The desire to be comprehensive often makes your message weak.

I used to build messaging briefs that tried to say everything all at once. Every program, every outcome, every audience, every differentiator.

Because it all mattered and it all made sense… to me.

But it made zero sense to anyone hearing it for the first time.

That's the curse of knowledge. When you've lived inside a mission long enough, every detail feels equally essential. So it all comes out at once. And the buzzwords take over: "Resources." "Equip." "Empower."

Every nonprofit uses these words. So people are left scratching their head, not knowing what in the world you actually do. 😬

Here's the hack: say less.

Find the one thing about your work that's most concrete, narrow, and specific — and communicate about that one thing really well.

That's how you earn the right to a future conversation, where you actually get to tell them more.

What would that one thing be for your org?