How to stop waffling, and other questions

I crowdsourced some real people’s real branding challenges on the ‘gram. Here are the first three tackled…

Problem #1 I want to use more feminine touches but have to stick to a masculine brand

Ahh. The age 'ol conundrum when you're part of a bigger brand whose style isn't quite your own.

[To provide a little context, this problem-haver is a coach working under a bigger brand, which puts her in the ideal position of bringing in some more feminine touches without being off-brand.]

While you can't add in feminine visuals or change the brand itself, there is another way you can integrate the feminine touch you're looking for. How? Personality. As a coach (also applies to a service provider or a face of a brand) your personality is something people will come specifically to you for.

For example, a promotional or standard monthly newsletter would be in the brand's tone and style, while a 'letter from the founder' or 'coach check in' would be written in your own tone of voice - because it's coming from you so it's a natural place for your own personality to shine.

This also applies to all interactions with clients, behind-the-scenes social stories and the experience you provide (such as the coffee date at the end of group events) etc. These are all chances to bring in feminine touches while the core of the brand remains the masculine one.

Problem #2 How to say what I want in minimal words/ less waffle

Believe it or not, the fewer words, the harder it is to write.
My answer to this is twofold.

One - Don't beat yourself up if you feel like you're waffling. It's better to overcommunicate than not communicate at all.

Two - Try this for size: Bullet the key points you want to communicate. Write the 'thing' using these key points. Remove anything that doesn't need to be there. And then when you think you've done it, remove some more.

Three ('cause I'm a rebel) - There's nothing wrong with sticking to bullet points for shortness and ease of understanding. Our brains love to skim.

Problem #3 What I think is obvious often isn't obvious...

Maaaate. You've just hit on one of the trickiest things about communications as a business. You are always SO much closer to your business/services/problems you solve for your customer than your audience is. That makes it hard to know what they do or don't understand and all too easy to assume things are obvious...To you they are, to most people they're not.

There are a few ways you can avoid this.

Assume people know nothing. Even if you've talked about it before or shared something similar, we're all living such busy lives and it's highly unlikely that every single member of your audience will retain information. It helps to repeat, and explain, and repeat and explain again.

You want to feel like you've said the same thing a million times and that it should be obvious. Then you're doing your communication right.

Another option is sense-checking with someone who's not you and ideally not in your industry. A simple "hey read this and tell me what you take away from it" or "what does X mean to you?" will help you see what the level of understanding (or lack of) is for the ave jo.

Finally, start noting all of the things people most often ask you about or are shocked to learn. These are things that aren't obvious so you know when you talk about them you need to go more in-depth.

YOU GOT THIS. And if you don’t, I’ve got it for you.