#260 – September 21, 2025
key is understanding what your audience truly cares about
The magic of framing the message
8 minutes by Judd Antin
Most meetings are filled with people trying to impress others with brilliant new ideas or by attacking existing ones. But effective leadership influence actually comes from skillful message framing. The key is understanding what your audience truly cares about and what keeps them awake at night. Then use their language to frame your ideas, which makes your message feel more familiar and creates shared ownership. Always start with agreement and build from there using the "yes, and" approach.
Free Webinar: Modernizing Legacy Business Apps Without Sacrificing Speed & Quality UX
sponsored by Progress Telerik
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Quiet influence: A guide to Nemawashi in engineering
3 minutes by Matt Hodgkins
Technical proposals often fail not due to poor engineering but because of weak social strategy. Staff engineers succeed by using "Nemawashi," a technique that builds consensus before formal presentations. Instead of surprising stakeholders with a complete proposal, meet with key people individually first. Ask for their thoughts, identify risks, and incorporate their feedback into a living document. This approach turns the final presentation into a formality since everyone already supports the refined idea.
How can I influence others without manipulating them?
12 minutes by Andi Roberts
Andi explores five ways to influence others effectively. Most people default to one persuasion style, which can blind them to what others actually need. The five approaches are rationalising with facts, asserting with conviction, negotiating for balance, Inspiring through vision, and bridging via relationships. Good influence means recognizing which door the other person is standing at and adapting your approach accordingly.
Being good isn’t enough
3 minutes by Josh Swords
Career advice is tricky because the same job title can mean very different things to people. Technical skills get you started, but eventually everyone around you reaches the same level. To stand out, you need to develop four key areas: technical skill, product thinking, project execution, and people skills.
Why we spiral
10 minutes by Gregory M. Walton
People can get trapped in negative spirals when they feel insecure about belonging or worth. A small trigger, like being late to a meeting, can make someone question their place. They then interpret neutral events as negative proof of their fears. This creates a cycle where their own actions make things worse. Understanding these patterns allows us to break free and create positive spirals instead.
Tests are dead. Meticulous AI is here.
sponsored by Meticulous
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