Speaking For What Matters Most

In the era of preambles, verbal games, and AI chat bots, speaking for what matters most—with truth, simplicity, and humanity—is the stuff of mountains.

Yesterday I shared a piece on speaking with people through change. What about when we need to use our words as an oppositional force? How can we speak for what matters most?

There are things I knew as a child at the dining room table before I had the vocabulary or references to back them up. I was talked down from idealism. Now I have the wisdom to reclaim knowing. Today I speak, as I did then, for the inherent goodness of people.

First, discover what you speak for.

Consider the following questions:

Whose spoken words expressing what you know to be true?

In NLL’s new paradigm of networking, Strategic Webbing, we seek value alignment over status. Values-based connections transcend status. Those who express what you know to be true, no matter how far from you, offer opportunities for expansion. Whether you ever meet or the breadcrumbs of their life lead you to your next right steps, the connection is real.

As a child, I discovered The Diary of Anne Frank. Her words, “In spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart," resonated. I performed this dramatic monologue for years. In a way, it wasn’t a performance. It was an expression of our shared knowing. My connection with this historical figure, transcending time and space, was both real and impactful.

What have you been unable to not speak for? 

Speak the words your breath can't help but carry, and do so with conviction. A Gen Z client was a project manager at a major pharma. She was in a room with senior leaders making a decision that came down to serving potentially life-saving science or the shareholder. Her arm raised before the rules of rank stopped her. She spoke clearly for science and patients. Later, she asked to jump on a Zoom and recount the moment. The strength of her integrity had literally shocked her. From there, her integrity grew too strong to stay. She took a promotion at a small, values-aligned biotech, where she can speak with verses speak up against more often than not. 

Reflect, then complete the prompt: “I speak for… “ 

Once you know what you speak for, let's examine how to speak for it.

Speak truly, simply, and with humanity.

Speak truly—more like the child with inherent knowing than the expert with adopted thinking. 

As a preteen, I was having dinner with a wealthy friend's family. The conversation came to welfare. I shared how important I felt it was. My friend's mother told me, “I used to feel like you, but the older you get, the more conservative you become.”  Having been a preteen in the height of the 60s, she was—like many boomers—a hippie turned capitalist.

The finality of her shut-down indicated the finality of her self-denial. To deny children’s knowing is to attempt to destroy something pure in them rather than face the heartbreak of what we’ve destroyed in ourselves. It’s painful to see self-abandonment through the mirror image of self-conviction.

As a child, I was regularly frustrated to the point of tears that adults wouldn’t take me seriously. What’s disregarded as idealism in children often comes down to the limitations of their still-developing language skills. Focus less on verbal games and more on truth. 

Speak simply—more like a poet, revealing what’s essential, than a politician, hiding what’s essential.

Those who seek dominance rather than connection use language to confound. With clients advancing in leadership, I hear two phases of their communication with top leaders:

  • Phase one: intimidation. They’ll say something like, “I don't speak the language of leadership.” They’re afraid to speak up because they don’t understand what is being said or how to communicate in this style.

  • Phase two: seeing the game. They begin to see how leaders use jargon to hide what they're really saying. Often, when they're speaking against what they claim to stand for.

Recently, a client shared that top leaders use the term “staff efficiencies” to talk about firing people. Her counter-action: using real words. Simplicity disarms game players.

Speak with humanity.

ChatGPT can say almost anything. Last night, my boyfriend asked it to write a speech in the voice of Donald Trump, having just dropped his ice cream cone. It was tremendous. And AI is all intelligence, no consciousness. It stands for nothing. Honor humanity by valuing what you and others are speaking for.

To speak for, speak truly, simply, and with humanity, as poets do. To inspire, I leave you with the words of one of our greatest poets.

“Imagine” by John Lennon

Imagine there's no heaven It's easy if you try

No hell below us Above us, only sky

Imagine all the people Livin' for today

Imagine there's no countries

It isn't hard to do

Nothing to kill or die for

And no religion, too

Imagine all the people

Livin' life in peace

You may say I'm a dreamer

But I'm not the only one

I hope someday you'll join us

And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions

I wonder if you can

No need for greed or hunger

A brotherhood of man

Imagine all the people

Sharing all the world You

You may say I'm a dreamer

But I'm not the only one

I hope someday you'll join us

And the world will live as one

Lucia brizzi