And one of my very first psychology professors, the very first thing he said on the first day of class is the funny thing about common sense is it's not so common. And we just assume that if I say, here are all the things my product does or the service offers, that you're going to see all the value in it. And that's not always true. And what I like is that your model really forces us to think about those benefits. So let's connect some dots here. How does personal power show up in pitching and persuasion? I'll start with a Harvard study. They did a Harvard study. It was 21, 22 that it was published. And what they found was that individuals who spoke more abstractly during their pitch, for example, they framed the benefits more abstractly than concretely. Those pitches were seen as more investment worthy. Isn't that crazy? It's a shift in language to the abstract. And there were two reasons the research really postulated. One was when you speak abstractly, it also expands to a future view and is wider picture. And so it demonstrates more of a future opportunity for revenue, which is a value to the investor. And number two, it conveys more powerful leadership. I want to turn to nonverbal communication because it is important and it is a way that we assess people's power, the way they hold themselves, what they do with their bodies and their voices. What can we do to assert our personal power in terms of what we do in our nonverbal communication? So much of the nonverbal work has been done in Amy Cuddy's work and power posing. I call the values thing, the emotional power pose, when we tap into our values before we go into a high-stakes situation. But in terms of nonverbals, I recently found this research that I thought was so fascinating and so counterintuitive. We tend to think that powerful people have a deeper voice, right? And the research actually suggests that as you go up the hierarchy and as your personal power increases, your voice actually gets a little higher. Isn't that interesting? Well, what are you saying, Chris? Is this true? And you're like, I know people who, when they're like, they get really high voice. Yeah, when you get really high voice, sometimes you're afraid. And so your vocals are constricting from that fear. And that's an extreme. But if we look, for example, Steve Jobs does not have a low voice. Bill Gates does not have a low voice. The people in power, it's a natural voice. And so I think the message here is sometimes we worry about our non-verbals to the point that we become self-conscious, which then is I'm trying to be liked. And so you're going to get into this downward spiral. Whereas if you're like, actually, I'm just going to be comfortable with myself, right? My voice might get a little higher pitch. That's okay. So I like this idea of not fixating so much on the nonverbals because then you get in your head and it actually negatively impacts the power. I do think there are some fundamental things that audiences expect from people who have power. And I do think those can be overcome, certainly with your passion, your vision. I don't want to use the word forgive, but we don't see these cues and clues. They don't weigh as strongly, for example. But I do think we have some expectations. But I like the advice of, hey, focus on your value, focus on what you're passionate about, and then worry less about the specifics. You can do everything right with the nonverbals and still lack personal power. is the ultimate big picture, right? So in my own research on pitches, over 70% of successful pitches incorporate a vision somewhere within that pitch, usually at the beginning or the end, most often the end. But you can see how the vision is that wide abstract view. So you're communicating power again to your language, not worrying so much about your body. Before we end, Chris, I'd like to ask three questions of everybody. One I create just for you and the other two are similar for everyone I interview. You up for that? Absolutely. So you and I are in a similar profession. We teach at business schools and we also coach and work with others. What have you found is the big aha moment that's really helped impact and change people in terms of having them improve their communication? Is there one thing that you have found really makes a big difference? The thing that I see in all of my clients and my students at the business school is when they recognize that good communication is not focused on, I is focused on you, right? Value, focus. The other focus instead of the broadcast focus, really important. I see that too. Question number two, who is a communicator that you admire and why? This is going to be such an off-tangental thing. I love the Dalai Lama. And when you listen to the Dalai Lama speak, you feel warm inside. But he's not a fluffy speaker. And what he communicates from a place of, let's say, personal power is number one, he's very factual, very direct. That's one of the ways we speak with power. Number two is he's very authentic. Personal power has nothing to hide. Us hiding our authenticity happens as a result because we're trying to get a positive evaluation. So it's actually inauthenticity is low power. They've done a lot of research, came out of UC Berkeley and things. When you show up more authentically, people perceive you to have more power. And when you're more powerful with people, you're more authentic. And the Dalai Lama just emanates this authenticity that's so open and connected with the people around him. He is a very direct communicator. Question number three, final question. What are the first three ingredients that go into a successful communication recipe? Bad communication focuses on your ideas. Good communication focuses on the value of your ideas. Number one. Number two is focus on the big picture. Always, no matter what you're talking, no matter how in the weeds you are, even if it's a very deep technical problem, always maintain the wider picture and the goals. Number three, focus on action. So it's about value. It's about seeing the big picture and it's about the action. And those ingredients will lead to not only effective communication, but communication that comes from a source of internal power. Chris, thank you for powerfully explaining your position, point of view, and sharing with us very specific and actionable things we can do to not only pitch our ideas and be persuasive, but more importantly, demonstrate our internal power. Thank you. My pleasure, Matt. Thank you for joining us for another episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, the podcast. To learn more about power, please listen to episode 12 with Deb Gruenfeld or episode 130 with Jeff Pfeffer. This episode was produced by Ryan Campos and me, Matt Ibrahams. Our music is from Floyd Wonder with thanks to Podium Podcast Company. Please find us on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts. pleasure, Matt. Be sure to subscribe and rate us. Also follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram and check out faster smarter.io for deep dive videos, English language learning content, and our newsletter. Please consider our premium offering for extended Deep Thinks episodes, AMA's Ask Matt Anything, and much more at fastersmarter.io slash premium. Hi, Matt here. I'd like you to consider becoming part of our Think Fast, Talk Smart Premium. Premium affords you lots of opportunities to get extended Deep Thinks episodes, coaching through Ask Matt Anythings, and access to a global community of people looking to hone and develop their communication and careers. 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