What Your Messaging is Missing: How to Close the Meaning Gap (with Diane Wiredu, Founder of Lion Words)
The Dave Gerhardt Show
Flagship Message in Action: Content Verification
Diane shares a case study where focusing on accuracy led to the headline 'When it has to be right, teams use TBT.'
#300 Drive | This episode is from Drive 2025, our 2-day in-person event for B2B marketers in Burlington, VT. It features Diane Wiredu, Founder of Lion Words and expert in B2B messaging and positioning. She shared a killer talk on “What Your Messaging Is Missing,” breaking down why most B2B copy sounds the same and how to close the meaning gap by focusing on clarity, balance, and buyer context.
Head over to exitfive.com/drive to join the waitlist for Drive 2026 and be the first to know when tickets go on sale.
Timestamps
- (00:00) - – Intro from Dave
- (02:52) - – What “message-market fit” actually means
- (05:22) - – Why most B2B messaging misses
- (09:27) - – The “meaning gap” and why it happens
- (14:12) - – Balancing clarity, emotion, and differentiation
- (19:37) - – How to simplify complex products
- (26:33) - – Examples of messaging that actually resonates
- (32:03) - – How to pressure-test your messaging
- (38:18) - – Aligning teams around a clear message
- (44:03) - – Turning insights into copy that converts
- (49:13) - – Q&A: internal buy-in, testing, next steps
Join 50,000 people who get our Exit Five Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter
Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/
***
Today’s episode is brought to you by Paramark.
It’s November. 2026 planning is already here. And the stuff you’re doing right now will decide how next year plays out.
But here’s the problem: most teams are still planning next year's marketing strategy based on the WRONG DATA because of broken attribution and a misleading gut feel. And you can’t make smart budget calls if you’re just guessing what’s working, what’s not, and where to put your next dollar.
That’s where Paramark comes in. They help you replace the guesswork with actual insight backed by $2 billion in analyzed marketing data. They’ve figured out what actually drives incremental growth across every channel including LinkedIn, Meta, TikTok, Google, CTV, even OOH.
And right now, they’re offering a private 1:1 consultation with their CEO and CMO, Pranav and Sam, who have led marketing teams at companies like Dropbox, Adobe, Microsoft, and Shutterfly.
In this 45-minute strategy session, they’ll help you measure the real impact of every marketing dollar, pull insights from your current media mix, and design a 2026 roadmap that’s rooted in data, not gut.
This is a heck of an offer. And it’s real. And will go fast. So if you want to future-proof your marketing strategy for 2026, don’t miss out on this offer.
Grab your spot at paramark.com/brand-consult.
***
Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production.
- They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast.
- Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest.
- Visit hatch.fm to learn more
The AI-powered Podcast Player
