Speak and Write with Greater Impact

How do you get a nation of people to rise to their feet? How do you command an army to move with the same intention? Better yet, how do you send a stubborn kid to their room without dessert? Impactful communication— The ability to speak and write your most powerful thoughts into the world. Communication has given us power for as long as humans have been capable of conveying thoughts to one another. We use it when we’re ordering our favorite drink at Starbucks. We use it when we’re reading a bedtime story. Most importantly, we use it when addressing pressing issues in our lives. Yet, not everyone on this green and blue world was born with the creative expression to deliver impact. Some people struggle to convey their thoughts and convince others to hear beyond their speech for the true meaning. Basically, some of us fail to deliver our thoughts by being creative and instead speak and write with no impact. If you’re among that group of people, don’t worry. You have the potential to speak and write with impact like the greatest storytellers and politicians. You can learn how in this Wizard of Ads™ article. Stick around to learn more about this medium of expression.

The Law of Impact

To speak and write with impact, you have to know what impact truly means. There can’t be any guesses or random shots in the dark here. So, we’ll take a lesson from one of the greatest minds to ever walk this planet — Isaac Newton. Way back in 1869, good ol’ Isaac released his book, Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy. In that book, he describes the law of impact. This law states that impact is the product of mass (size and weight) times acceleration (speed). How does that translate into communication? It’s simple. Isaac’s formula means that impact comes from the weight of your thoughts and how quickly you deliver them. That’s pretty interesting, right? If you’re not much for math, you’re in luck. Plenty of other geniuses have discussed the real meaning of impact. We’ll cover a few of their ideas, too. Ryan Chute, at Wizard of Ads™ can help you understand the meaning of impact, as well. We’ll also help you use impact to your advantage when you speak and write to your audience. Book a call with him to learn more.

Too Obvious

Do you recognize the names Norman Rockwell and Andrew Wyeth? There’s a massive chance that you’d recognize their work. Norman was an American painter and illustrator for many years. His work was broadly popular in the U. S. for its accurate reflection of American culture. Andrew was very similar, as primarily a realist painter. By the end of his life, he was one of the best-known American artists of the mid-20th century. However, aside from their accomplishments, Norman and Andrew share something else in common – Criticism. Their works were often called “too obvious.” But many critics fail to realize that these artists were masters at communication. Both Norman and Andrew could convey big elaborate ideas clearly and quickly. They didn’t rely on illustrations so detailed that a viewer's eyes would burn trying to see it all. They understood that, sometimes, less is more impactful. All of that is to convince you to take a cue from their creative forms of expression. You don’t need to spin a highly detailed story at every dinner party or meeting. There are times when fewer words will carry bigger punches. Someone who has mastered the art of communication knows when to leave the boring bits out to retain someone’s attention. Think about that as we continue onward and you learn how to speak and write with impact.

Soon You’ll be Able to Speak and Write with Greater Impact

“The best way to become a successful writer is to read good writing, remember it, and then forget where you remember it from.” – Gene Fowler (1890 – 1960)

You heard Gene. The best way to learn how to speak and write with impact is by consuming content from masters. We’re talking about the people who can boil down massive skyscraper ideas into short blogs. And the people who can take a 10-hour masterclass and transform it into a short YouTube video. They are the masters, and they are the best example to follow. Whether you find a blog, podcast, or video, it’s all helpful, as long as their communication style is right. Stay away from the people who use long-winded explanations. Find the masters who use the “Hemingway style” – Characterized by simplicity, directness, clarity and naturalness. Basically, the fewer words they use to help you understand a big idea, the better. We know it can be hard to say goodbye to beautiful flowing sentences. But if you want your words to carry a punch, you must let those sentences flow down the river. Let the creative express train carry on without you. If you don’t want to invest all of your valuable time into searching for good examples of impactful communication, don’t worry. We’ll help you out by giving you some good options. But after these, you’ll have to start the search on your own.

New York Times Bestsellers

Finding the right examples of good, impactful writing can be very tricky. So to avoid you accidentally finding the wrong examples, we’ll give you some right here. But remember, you can also check out The New York Times Bestseller list yourself for some options.

A Quick Honorable Mention

While Hemingway’s books don’t grace the top of the bestseller list anymore, they’re still amazing examples to follow. His work is simple and sweet. Mainly following a short, choppy writing style from beginning to end— Highlighted best in his short story work. In case you didn’t read any of his work in school, here are some recommendations. Keep in mind that his works serve as both inspiration and good examples. You may discover your own ways to be creative.

• The Sun Also Rises
• A Farewell to Arms
• The Old Man and the Sea

1. Fired Up! Selling™: Great Quotes to Inspire, Energize, Succeed

Fired Up! Selling is a phenomenal book with 40 years' worth of inspirational quotes about sales. The author Ray Bard had a jury of judges sort through 1,000 quotes, voting on the best-of-the-best. This book holds every quote those judges deemed worthy. This book is honestly a can’t miss. Each quote is a perfect example of how to speak and write in an impactful tone.

2. The Wizard of Ads Trilogy

Written by our very own Roy H. Williams, [The Wizard of Ads Trilogy]  is a work of storytelling perfection. It masterfully presents advertising and marketing principles— helping small businesses gain an advantage over competitors. With all of the creative expressions, you’ll have a good time learning to use advertising and marketing principles. Don’t worry, though. Roy may be an exceptional storyteller, but he doesn’t waste a single word. You’re guaranteed to learn a lot. When you’re searching for books to grab, look for books that align with the style of Roy, Ray, and Hemingway. If you stick with that style and focus on your reading, you’re sure to pick up some things.

How Do You Communicate With Greater Impact?

To communicate with greater impact, you need to what? Learn from the masters. The authors recommended are just the tip of the iceberg. You can learn a lot from them, but we don’t recommend stopping there. At some point, you’ll want to venture out and find some more content to learn from and enjoy. You also don’t have to stick with books. We mentioned painting and illustration before. There’s no reason that creative art drawings can’t offer similar lessons. One last thing, don’t copy and paste communication styles exactly. We’ve offered you those examples as inspiration in the hopes that you can take them and make them suit you. Your communication will be most impactful when it’s your unique voice. Remember this as you learn and grow. If you need help refining the communication approach, we can help you with that. Wizard of Ads™ knows how to use communication best practices to reach your ideal audience and grow businesses by multiples. Book a call with us today to learn more.