There's a trap I see a LOT of founders fall into when it comes to their messaging.
I call it passion-first positioning.
It's when you lead with what YOU care about, rather than the problem your audience needs help with.
❌ "I'm on a mission to make workplaces more human."
It might sound nice, but it doesn't mean anything and building a business off the back of a statement like that is going to be a hard slog.
You can get away with statements like these if you're Simon Sinek.
But until then, Clear > Clever.
The 5 messages every Founder needs.
It's why when someone joins MicDrop, one of the first things we do is help them build out their Speaker Messaging Suite.
These messages have a dramatic impact on your ability to get booked.
𝗔 𝟮𝟬-𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼 🎯
For when someone asks you "so, what do you do?"Example: “I help [organisations] build [high-performing cultures] without [burning out].’
Format: “I help [audience] achieve [outcome] without [negative consequence].”𝗔 𝗠𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗠𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 💡
The belief at the heart of your work.
Example: “I believe that [vulnerability] is [a sign of strength].”
Format: "I believe that [X does Y]."𝗔𝗻 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲-𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗠𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲
For your talks, workshops and podcasts.
Example: “The point is… [when you have the courage to model vulnerability, you’ll create the trust and connection that make teams unstoppable].”
Format: "The point is, it's that [X does Y]."𝗔𝗻 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁-𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗠𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲
For when someone's thinking about booking you to speak.Example: “Most people approach [leadership as a skill to master]. I approach it through the lens of [courage and vulnerability]. So that audiences leave feeling [a little braver, more human] and clear that [trust is built through connection, not power].”
Format: “Most people approach [topic] by [conventional approach]. I approach it by [new approach] so audiences leave feeling [emotion] and understanding [insight].”
𝟱. A 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺-𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗠𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲
For everything else.
Example: “[Leadership training] is important, but [executive presence doesn’t create high-performing cultures]. That’s where I come in. I help leaders [build trust through vulnerability] so that [teams stay engaged, loyal and motivated to do their best work.]”
Format: “[Typical interventions] are important, but [reason problem still persists]. That’s where I come in - [unique approach] so that [business outcome].”
When you have your Speaker Messaging Suite in place, everything starts to compound:
✅ Opportunities start coming to you (because you're speaking to their needs).
✅ People start recommending you (because they finally know how to talk about what you do).
✅ Fees for your services and talks go up (because urgent problems command serious budgets)
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When our new members join on 17th June, this will be one of the very first things we'll be working on.
Why? Because we have a golden window before the summer holidays kick in to help our members get ready for a record-breaking autumn.
Excited for my afternoon of calls with prospective members! Happy Monday all!
If you’d like to join them, click here to book in a call.
Alex
