👋 Hey, it’s Wes. Welcome to my weekly newsletter on managing up, leading teams, and standing out as a high performer.

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I originally published a version of this essay in August 2020, and have since expanded it. If you find it helpful, please share with friends and coworkers. Enjoy.

Read time: 4 minutes

Positioning and messaging is exciting because you’re picking your angle. Of all the ways you could talk about your product, which way should you talk about it?

Even if you’re feeling confident in your company’s spiky point of view, it’s important to test your story.

At this point, folks will usually ask,

“So how do we know if our story resonates?”

“How do we test our positioning and messaging?”

“How can we tell if customers are excited by this value prop?”

I want to share one of my favorite frameworks because it’s super easy and intuitive.

Here’s the deal:

You already know when people are excited to hear a story.

They perk up. Their energy level shifts. All of a sudden they look alive—and they want to hear what you have to say.

I call this the Eyes Light Up moment. Or ELU for short.

This is the moment when your audience is viscerally, undeniably excited about what you’re talking about.

That is the reaction you’re looking for. Whenever you tell a story, share your value proposition, or test your positioning/messaging…

Eyes lighting up is the reaction that matters.

If you ask a bunch of intellectual questions, you’ll get intellectual responses. These intellectual responses are usually not helpful. Hypothetical questions are even worse.

In the wise words of Ogilvy: “The problem with market research is that people don't think how they feel, they don't say what they think and they don't do what they say.”

It doesn’t matter if they say “Hmm interesting,” but meanwhile, they look dead in the eyes.

When your audience is ACTUALLY interested, their eyes light up. They might be interrupting you with questions, and you’d be having a lively conversation.

One of my former clients was going to SXSW.

I said, “This is a great chance to test your new positioning. Every time you talk to someone, describe your new product in a slightly different way. Notice what makes people’s eyes light up. Jot those down and let’s discuss when you’re back.”

They did this—and came back with pages of insights on what resonated in conversation. We emphasized and aggrandized certain elements. Then we trimmed parts people didn’t care as much about.

ELU will help you answer all these questions:

• Which parts of your story are boring?

• What parts do prospective customers actually care about?

• What should you spend more time talking about?

• Where are they confused?

• What did they remember and repeat back to you?

• What hot key words got them to perk up?

When you’re telling your story, the way to prepare is NOT to memorize a bunch of tactics. This is only going to make you nervous. You’ll be like an athlete trying to remember to keep your knees bent, but not too bent. Keep your back straight. Remember to follow through.

No. When you tell a story, the only thing you need to remember is this: Look for moments when your audience’s eyes light up.

What to do today

Start becoming more alert to your audience’s reactions, whether your audience are customers, cross-functional team members, or your CEO.

Try this:

If your recipient’s eyes are glazing over, stop. Switch gears. If they are barely listening, you don’t have much to lose by changing up your approach. And you have a lot to gain, like their renewed interest in the rest of the conversation.

Acknowledge clues that are already in front of you. I believe humans are incredibly attuned to noticing subtle clues from other humans. But we ignore and “power through” because we’re excited by what we’re saying. When you notice someone isn’t into it, recognize this as a data point and take the reins.

When your recipient’s eyes light up and they want to talk, let them. This applies to 1:1 conversations, especially sales calls. I used to continue talking because I wanted to finish my thought. Now, I almost always stop—sometimes mid-sentence—and let the other person speak. If I’m trying to sell them, their excitement is a sign it’s working. And if they talk, they might sell themselves.

When was the last time you noticed your recipient’s eyes lighting up? When might you be ignoring subtle clues from your audience?

Hit reply because I’d love to hear from you. Thanks for being here, and I’ll see you next Wednesday at 8am ET.

Wes

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