The Eight Keys to I.N.T.R.I.G.U.E.

Several people reached out after last week's newsletter to say, "Looking forward to your NEW I.N.T.R.I.G.U.E. acrostic, stories and insights. And first, could you share the previous one?"

Happy to. As mentioned, POP! and Got Your Attention? were written before the days of AI.

So I'm writing a new book, Tick Talk®: What To Say When Every Second Counts, to introduce current examples and insights on how to make what's important to us intriguing to others.

I know all about people's goldfish-like attention spans. Which is why, instead of a 300-page doorstopper, this will be short (think Who Moved My Cheese meets Chicken Soup for the Soul) so you can dip in, read 5 minutes at a time, and derive value even when you're on-the-go.

Here's an example of the AAAA Format (Anecdote, AHA, Ask, Act) I'll be using in my new book.

ANECDOTE: A friend recently asked, "Who's the most intriguing person you've met?" Here's who POP'd out and the story of how we met. See if you can guess who it is!

I connected with this person when organizer Gail Williams asked us both to speak for NASA's Leadership Colloquium at Goddard Space Center.

A self-described "geek," she shared how shocked she was to find herself fretting about her kids. She said, "I never used to be a worrier, but once I became a mom, I would stand in my kids' room at night, watch them sleep, and weep.

They were perfectly healthy, yet I was perfectly miserable. It made no sense."

Then she shared a stunning anecdote on how she finally stopped worrying.

"Picture this. A family is driving to their grandparent's house on Christmas Eve. They’re running late and the parents start snapping at each other.

The kids in the backseat try to ease the tension by singing Jingle Bells.

The parents look at each other, 'What are we doing?!' and start singing along.

There they are, a happy family singing on the way to their grandparents' house.

Then what happens?"

This person paused to let us think, then delivered the whammy.

"Guess how most people answer that question? 'They get in a car accident.'

Is that what you thought?

If so, that means that deep down, you believe happiness is too good to be true. 

Even in the midst of joy, you’re waiting for the other shoe to drop."

You could’ve heard a pin drop. Everyone was engaged, intrigued, and impacted.

This person then went on to share how - if we realize we have a habit of shutting down our feelings so we're not vulnerable to these types of fears - we can do things differently.

Can you guess who that speaker was? (Answer at end of post.)

AHA: Brene embodied all 8 elements of I.N.T.R.I.G.U.E.

Her INTRO had us at hello.

Her insight wasn't just true, it was NEW.

She was incredibly TIME-EFFICIENT, delivering this epiphany in the first 3 minutes of her talk.

Her insight was RELEVANT, RELATABLE, REPEATABLE.

Her style was INTERACTIVE. This wasn't a one-way monologue, it was a two-way dialogue.

She understood the way to GET attention is to GIVE attention. She wasn't in her head regurgitating a memorized speech. She poured into her audience, making eye contact with every single person in the room, making us feel seen, creating an almost tangible bond.

Her example put us-in-the-scene so we arrived at our own personal Socratic revelation.

ASK:

• Who is the most intriguing person you’ve ever met?

• What was it about this person that makes them so interesting? Be specific.

• On a scale of 1-10, how intriguing do you think you are?

• Do people perceive you as being intriguing? Why or why not?

ACTION:

• Do you have an important communication coming up - meeting, pitch, presentation?

• How will you avoid INFObesity by using these eight elements of INTRIGUE?

• How will you craft an opening story that resonates with everyone who hears it?

• How will you make what's true NEW so you facilitate a relatable, repeatable insight?

P.S. And yes, if you guessed that speaker was Brene Brown, you're right.

P.P.S. If you want to make what's important to you intriguing to others, feel free to print out this I.N.T.R.I.G.U.E. infographic, post it by your desk, and discuss it at your team meetings so you can craft communications that deeply connect, achieve goals, add value, and win buy-in.

P.P.P.S. And if you want a preview of the new I.N.T.R.I.G.U.E. elements, so you can Tick Talk® in today's rush-rush, AI-all-the-time workplace, subscribe to this newsletter.