A client told me a story that I thought was emblematic of everything I teach:

His company recently purchased a facility in Europe, so he traveled there to visit the campus and meet the folks now working for him.

A dinner was held in his honor, where he was expected to give a speech about what this purchase would mean for the company and the people involved. As he approached the microphone, speech in hand, something suddenly occurred to him… something that I have been teaching and preaching to him for the past four years.

Before launching into his prepared speech, he told the audience that his heart was heavy that night because Russia had just initiated its campaign of missile attacks on Ukrainian cities. So while they needed to talk business that evening, he wanted everyone to know that his mind was also on the Ukrainian people and their struggle.

It was a moment completely disconnected from everything else he would say that evening. It failed to answer any of the questions that these people had about the purchase of their company and their future employment.

It was utterly unrelated to business or the work they do.

Yet it was also the most important thing he said that night, too. It brought everyone together in a moment of solidarity and gratitude. People later told him how much that handful of sentences had meant to them.

Vulnerability, authenticity, and humanity are what people crave. They want to know that the person selling a product, seeking an investment, offering a service, or taking over your company is a human being capable of moments of real emotion.

That night, my client opened his heart and mind to his audience. Rather than delivering a speech that any corporate monolith could have delivered, he revealed a bit of himself to his audience, and they responded as all audiences will:

With gratitude and appreciation. Enthusiasm and connection.

If you’re not sharing a bit of yourself when you speak, you’re little more than a cookie-cutter spokesperson.

Say real things. Share important stuff. Do the things that so many are unwilling or afraid to do.