There's a mistake that every Nonprofit leader makes from time to time. In fact, we all make this mistake, not just in our work, but in multiple aspects of our lives. And if we can be attentive enough and fix it, we can absolutely transform our results and massively reduce our level of frustration.

Here's what I'm talking about. It's the curse of the expert. We know way too much about every aspect of the work that we do and the impact it has. And we correctly recognize that all those details are important. They all contribute to the overall success of the work that we do.

Unfortunately, that makes us really bad at paring that way down and zeroing in on the one or two details or messaging points that the decisionmaker we're talking to needs to know right now. Not in the end, not when we're all done, but right now.

We want to tell them all the details 'cause we know how important they all are. But when we do that, all we do is flood their brain with way too much information and they can't process any of it and they don't retain any of it.

So what do we do about this? How do you not only refrain from TMI, but how do you identify precisely what are the two or three things this decisionmaker needs to know right now, depending on where they are in their journey. Where do you, as their guide, need to take them next?

In this episode, we share:

• What I learned from teaching jujitsu that will help you build messaging that causes decisionmakers to “get it”
• The three-piece message scaffolding that is key to moving decisionmakers to invest fully in your work
• How to construct a high-level, impact-focused summary of your work in three sentences or less
• Why white papers and infographics often fail to improve decisionmakers’ understanding
• How to structure your messaging to cause decisionmakers to ask for the exact details they need
• The one thing you must train yourself to do when talking with decisionmakers

Help spread the word! If you found value in this episode, I’d be grateful if you would leave a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Your reviews help other nonprofit leaders find the podcast. Thanks!!