Communication Best Practices

Got an email from a colleague I've known for three years. Drinks after conferences. Inside jokes. His daughter plays soccer. Subject line: Strategic Alignment for Q3. Flawless formatting. Perfect grammar. Professionally upbeat. Every bullet precisely spaced. I felt absolutely nothing. Closed it without responding. Here's what's actually happening: for decades, polish was proof of effort. A well-written message meant someone cared enough to craft it. AI severed that connection completely. Now a perfect email could be 30 minutes of real thought or 3 seconds of prompting, and the recipient cannot tell. So we don't trust any of it. Not dramatically. Not consciously. But in the slow, cumulative way that hollows out working relationships over time. Each frictionless message becomes a little harder to take seriously. Each exchange feels more like a transaction, less like a conversation. There's a concept in evolutionary biology called costly signaling. A peacock's tail is trusted precisely because it's expensive to grow. Cheap signals carry no weight. AI communication costs nearly zero to produce. The recipient, consciously or not, values it accordingly. And when everyone in an org uses the same tools, something stranger happens: the voices converge. AI is a probability engine. It gravitates toward average phrasing, standard structure, safest tone. Use it to smooth your communication and you're not saving time, you're deleting your own fingerprint. Before your next important message, ask one question: is there a single sentence here that could only have come from me? If no, the message might land. But it won't build anything. The polished email costs nothing to produce. That's precisely why it costs everything to trust. Link to the full essay in the comments below.

An ecommerce company recently approached my team to do an email audit as they were facing challenges with low open and click-through rates. After analyzing their email account, here are our main recommendations to revive their email marketing channel: 1. Strategic Email Segmentation: Currently, your emails lack personal relevance due to a one-size-fits-all approach. This is a crucial area to address. Action Plan: Implement segmentation based on purchase history, engagement levels, browsing behavior, and demographic information. 2. Personalized Content Creation: Generic content won't cut it. Your audience needs to feel that each email is crafted for them. Action Plan: Develop emails specifically tailored to the different segments. This includes curated product recommendations, personalized offers, and content that aligns with their interests. 3. Subject Line A/B Testing: Your current subject lines aren't doing their job. You need to be implementing ongoing A/B subject line tests, as this is low-hanging fruit to improve your open rates. Action Plan: Regularly test different subject line styles and formats to identify what resonates best with each segment. Keep track of the metrics to inform future campaigns. 4. Mobile Optimization: A significant portion of your audience reads emails on mobile devices. Neglecting this is causing a decrease in your email engagement rates. Action Plan: Ensure all emails are responsive and visually appealing on various screen sizes. Test your emails on multiple devices before sending them out. Additional Campaign Strategies We Recommend: - Launch a Monthly Newsletter: This should include new arrivals, style guides, and user-generated content. It’s an excellent way to keep your brand in the minds of your customers. - Seasonal Campaign Integration: Tailor your campaigns to align with holidays and seasons. This approach can significantly boost engagement and sales during key periods. - Re-Engagement Campaigns: Specifically target subscribers who haven't interacted with your brand recently. Offer them unique incentives to rekindle their interest. Next steps: 1. If you found this helpful, please leave a comment and let me know. 2. If you own/run/work at an Ecommerce company doing at least $1 million in annual revenue, message me so my team can audit your email channel to see if there's a good fit for working together.

Tired of endless meetings and pointless emails? High-performing teams have cracked the code. Ever noticed how some teams just "click" while others struggle with endless back-and-forth? The secret lies in how they communicate. After all, we spend 88% of our time at work communicating. After working with diverse teams for 20 years, I've identified 10 core principles that can transform your team's communication: 1. Quality over Quantity: Less talk, more impact. 2. Clarity Above All: Ensure your message is crystal clear. 3. Consistency Builds Alignment: Repeat key messages across all channels. 4. Active Listening: A Two-Way Street 5 Cultivate Small Talk: Strong relationships fuel effective communication. 6. Storytelling: Engage and Inspire 7. Transparency Fosters Trust 8. Embrace Feedback as Growth 9. Mindful Body Language: Your body language speaks volumes. 10. Establish a Push/Pull/Exchange System: Empower your team to share and receive information effectively. These principles go beyond just sending emails. They're about creating a culture of open, honest, and impactful communication. What are your top communication tips? Share in the comments below! And follow me Oliver Aust for daily insights on leadership communications.

Want to pitch someone on LinkedIn? Read this before you hit “send.” Every week, I get messages that go something like this: “Hi, I’m [Name]. I’ve built this incredible thing. It’s doing amazing work. Here’s why it matters. Can you help me/share it/connect me?” It’s not that I don’t care. I do. But these messages usually miss the mark and here’s why: They center the sender. Not the receiver. Here’s the truth: When you approach someone for the first time, you (and your project, product, or platform) are not the hero of the story. THEY are. If you want someone to care, start by showing that you care about what they do, what they stand for, what they’re building. Read their posts. Watch their interviews. Figure out what they’re trying to solve. Then ask yourself: how does what I’m doing help them win? Make your message less “I need,” and more “Here’s what I see in your work and how I can add value.” Additional tips: 💬 Keep it short. Long-winded intros are overwhelming. You’re not writing your bio, you’re opening a door! Three concise paragraphs is plenty (even less if you can). 🎯 Be specific. Instead of saying, “Let’s collaborate,” say: “I’d love to explore how we could align my youth platform with your mission to build stronger leadership pipelines.” People respond better when they know exactly what you’re asking. What’s your call to action? 🧠 Show you’ve done your homework. A thoughtful compliment goes a long way. “Your post on LinkedIn really made me think.” “I noticed you’ve been working on Y and I’m building something that could support that.” It shows you care enough to listen first. 🤝 Give before you ask. Share a helpful resource. Offer a useful intro. Tell them about an opportunity they might benefit from. Relationships are built on generosity. 📆 Respect their time. Instead of jumping into a call request, consider asking: “Would it be okay if I shared a 1-pager for you to skim in your own time?” People are more open when they don’t feel pressured. Please don’t immediately ask for a call. 💡 Think of it as planting, not picking. Your goal isn’t to “get” something, it’s to begin something. Not all outreach will lead to a project right away, but if done well, it can spark long-term relationships, ideas, and even unexpected opportunities. ✨ Bonus hack: I often ask my clients to count how many times they say “I” vs. “you” when they write to, present to or speak to their stakeholders. If the “I”s win, revise. It’s not listener-centric enough. Connection starts with empathy, not ego. Lead with curiosity. Offer service. That’s how collaborations are born. If these tips are helpful, check out Storytelling and Leadership for more. #Storytelling #AuthenticConnections #LinkedInTips #Leadership #PurposefulWork

Sales advice I disagree with: “Don’t use filler words like um and uh.” Filler words aren’t flaws. They’re how humans talk. They’re the tiny pauses your brain uses to think. The little breaths that make you sound alive instead of rehearsed. The signals that say, “I’m here with you. Not performing at you.” We’re watching creators chop their videos into five-second increments. Every pause sliced out. Every breath edited away. Every hesitation deleted. It sounds perfect. But it also sounds… not human. And that’s the trap. We start thinking that’s how we’re supposed to sound. Flawless. Fast. Crisp. No ums. No pauses. No real thinking happening in real time. So we chase that version of “perfect,” and in the process we lose the thing that actually builds trust. When you strip all the ums and uhs out of your speech, you don’t sound polished. You sound artificial. You sound like you’re reciting. People don’t trust perfect. Perfect feels performed. Perfect feels practiced. Perfect feels like someone hiding behind technique. What builds trust isn’t flawless delivery. It’s being real. Warts and all. Warmth. Transparency. Hiccups. The goal isn’t to eliminate filler words. It’s to eliminate filler intent. The part where you talk at people instead of with them. The part where someone can actually relate to you. Some ums never hurt anyone. Except maybe your high school English teacher. You’re human. Sound like it.

The F-word of communication is FIDELITY – accuracy and clarity in the transmission of our messages’ meaning. Yet in today’s fast-paced, multi-channel communication, many of us rush to deliver our messages without taking the time to tailor or test them. There is a way to predictably increase fidelity and still be time efficient: Just as product designers use the Minimally Viable Product (MVP) approach to quickly test, refine, and improve their offerings, we can apply similar principles to communication. We can leverage Minimally Viable Communication (MVC) to generate and iterate on meaningful, memorable messages that are audience-centric and clear. MVP to MVC: Translating Product Development Steps to Message Development -User Understanding → Audience Insight Just as MVP starts with understanding user needs, MVC begins by getting to know the audience—knowledge, attitudes, concerns, and expectations—to ensure relevance. -Market Analysis → Context Awareness In MVP, analyzing the market shapes product timing and scope. In MVC, considering context (like timing, message sequence, and channel) ensures the message fits the setting. -Success Metrics → Communication Goal MVP measures success through pre-defined metrics; MVC sets a clear goal around what we want the audience to know, feel, and do, helping focus our message and assess its impact. -Wire framing → Message Structure A product prototype conveys essentials efficiently; similarly, MVC uses clear structures (like Problem-Solution-Benefit or What-So What-Now What) to communicate core ideas without overload. -Feedback and Iteration → Feedback and Iteration MVP iterates based on feedback. In MVC, we do the same thing – we adapt our messages through audience feedback, refining it for clarity and impact. Read more about Minimally Viable Communication in my recent TIME online article. https://lnkd.in/ghNSYHYM To learn more tips, tools, and tactics about commuication, check out Think Fast Talk Smart: The Podcast by visiting fastersmarter.io.

Lately, I’ve noticed something strange on the internet. People aren’t impressed by “good writing” anymore. They’re cautious of it. Clean sentences. Perfect flow. Everything sounds composed and confident. And somehow… harder to trust. A year ago, everyone rushed to use AI for content. Now the reaction is swinging back. Fast. Feeds feel overproduced. Everyone sounds like they learned from the same playbook. Same rhythm. Same length. Same certainty. Looks sharp. Feels empty. That doubt is showing up everywhere now. “This feels fake.” “Looks like AI.” “Was this written by a human?” You see it in comments. You hear it in private conversations. Here’s the honest part. I’m NOT a professional writer. My vocabulary is limited. I don’t always know the best way to phrase things. I use ChatGPT sometimes. I use Claude sometimes. Especially when I’m in a hurry. What I care about is simple. The thought has to be mine. AI helps me get words on the screen. It doesn’t decide what I believe. Right now, polish is cheap. Thinking takes effort. What lands today isn’t perfect writing. It’s uneven. A little blunt. Sometimes awkward. Sometimes too direct. It feels human. Machines can write clean content in seconds. That’s why imperfections stand out. Lowercase sentences. Rough phrasing. Short thoughts. Opinions with sharp edges. People want to know there’s a real person behind the post. I think writing is splitting into two paths. One path blends into the feed. Safe. Predictable. Easy to ignore. The other path has a voice. Messy. Opinionated. Human. That’s where trust lives. AI isn’t the enemy. Mindless usage is. If you use AI, let it carry your thinking. Your context. Your edges. People don’t connect with perfect words. They connect with honest thoughts. And those still can’t be automated.

𝐒𝐮𝐛 𝟏𝟎% 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝟎.𝟓% 𝐂𝐓𝐑. 𝐀 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐥. Something had to change! Here’s what we did 🌟  ↴ Community Insights: ↳I reached out to operators in ClubPF ⚓︎, Pavilion, and other communities, and LinkedIn to learn from their email campaign strategies. Focused Segmentation: ↳ We noticed that the top marketers and ops professionals were creating highly engaged audience segments. We reduced our audience size by 90%, focusing on: → Last email opened from sales/marketing → Recent website visits → Event registration/attendance → Asset downloads or form submissions Building Engagement: ↳ We enriched contact details and evaluated titles, companies, goals, challenges, and content engagement across emails and our website. Gathering Feedback: ↳ We contacted 20+ engaged contacts to understand their email preferences, knowledge gaps, and content consumption habits. Strategic Expansion: ↳ We expanded our list by 5-10% weekly, monitoring performance closely. Within 3 weeks, we saw: 20%+ open rates 1.5%+ CTRs By the end of the quarter, our segmented email campaigns achieved a 30%+ open rate! Key Takeaways 💡: 👉 People-First Approach: Engage internally with the best team and externally with your audience. 👉 Data-Driven Decisions: Use engagement signals to create focused segments. 👉 Continuous Improvement: Regularly gather feedback and adjust strategies. ✨ This journey was about putting people first, aligning our team, and delivering value to our audience. The results speak for themselves! S/o to Ritakshi J. Sagar Mishra and Soumyajit Chakladar - we worked week after week to make this happen! Picture Context - Winter in Boston in 2010. Sometimes this is what being a GTM Operator feels like 🤣 #EmailMarketing #GTM #datadriven

A Series A SaaS founder from Los Angeles told me last week: "𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘓𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘥𝘐𝘯." He’s not alone. I’ve heard the same thing from VCs, ex-FAANG operators, even ex-McKinsey partners. They believe polish is what earns credibility. That perfect syntax builds authority. That if it reads like a press release, people will take them seriously. But here’s what they don’t realize— This mindset is exactly what’s killing their reach. Their voice sounds safe. Sanitized. Forgettable. Because when every post feels like it went through legal… It stops feeling like you. Let me be clear: Being strategic ≠ being sterile Having standards ≠ chasing perfection Thing is, We don’t trust perfect people. We trust the ones who tell the truth, even when it’s messy. Look around: → Naval’s most shared ideas are raw, unedited tweets → Melanie Perkins got more traction from rejection stories than product launches → Sahil Bloom saw 10x growth after leaning into imperfection And if that’s not enough— The data tells the same story: • Posts with imperfections + personal insight see 3.5x more engagement • Showing the “behind the scenes” drives 2–4x more private replies • Realness lowers CAC, increases trust velocity, and boosts retention So what do you really want? A post that sounds “professional”? Or one that people feel... and remember? Because here's the paradox most don't see: The more perfect you try to be… The more disconnected you become. Authority ≠ polish Authority = presence Own your voice. Let it breathe. Because the only content that scales today— Is the kind that makes people stop scrolling and start trusting. Still editing for perfection? Or is it time to speak like someone worth following?

As CEOs, we must serve as the catalyst for our organizations, shaping the narrative and leading with a strong communication strategy. In my experience as the CEO of two hospitals, I’ve learned that the role requires navigating a complex web of stakeholders—investors, employees, customers, doctors and governments—each with distinct needs and expectations. To manage these diverse constituencies, I follow the EDGE framework, which highlights four key principles: 1. Expanded Perspective: As the public face of the organization, every word and action carries weight. CEOs must consistently think of themselves as bridges to the outside world, aware that their communication has far-reaching effects beyond internal operations. 2. Distinctive Leadership: Focus on what only the CEO can do. While many tasks can be delegated, critical messaging and direction should come directly from the top to reinforce the CEO’s authority and vision. 3. Growth-Oriented Mindset: Effective leaders communicate with a focus on growth, highlighting not just the organization's current value but its future potential and societal contributions. It’s crucial to embed this in every external interaction. 4. Engagement with Empathy: Beyond influencing, truly understand the perspectives of your stakeholders. Meeting them where they are and working from their vantage point fosters stronger, more meaningful relationships. In summary, by following these principles, CEOs can drive positive impact and ensure their organizations are positioned for sustainable success.