Stop Trying to Sound Impressive. Be Relevant.

One of the most common traps I see among fractional leaders and consultants—whether they’re just starting out or have decades of experience—is trying to sound impressive.

They’ll pack their profiles, pitches, and content with jargon and generalities. Words like strategic transformation, organizational excellence, performance optimization, value creation. It’s polished. It sounds smart. But here’s the thing:

If your ideal buyer can’t glance at your message and instantly understand what problem, you solve—or how you make their life easier—they’re gone.

They’re not going to stop and decode your brilliance.

Not because they don’t care, but because their brains are overloaded.

In Thinking, Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman explains that people operate in two modes of thinking:

System 1 – fast, automatic, intuitive

System 2 – slow, effortful, analytical

And in today’s nonstop, hyper-distracted world? People are in System 1 almost all the time. They skim. They scroll. They decide in seconds. If your message doesn’t trigger immediate relevance—it’s invisible.  This works when one is trying to align language to match a role they are applying for and this is not how leaders find and engage Fractional Leaders or consultants.

That’s why relevance beats impressiveness. Every time.

As Seth Godin says:

“If you can’t state your position in eight words or less, you don’t have a position.”

In other words: clarity creates traction. Relevance opens doors.

Donald Miller puts it this way:

“If you confuse, you’ll lose. Noise is the enemy, and clarity is your best friend.”

The smartest messaging doesn’t sound smart.

It sounds familiar. It reflects back the pain your buyer is in.

It gives voice to the friction they feel every day at work.

And it speaks in the plain, human language they actually use.

That’s what earns a pause.

That’s what sparks a conversation.

That’s what creates trust.

And let’s not forget what Brene Brown reminds us:

“Clear is kind.”

Trying to be impressive puts up a wall.

Being relevant builds a bridge.

So don’t worry about sounding like the smartest person in the room.

Focus on being the most helpful, the most clear, the most human.

Because at the end of the day, no one’s hiring you to win a buzzword contest.

They’re contracting you to solve a problem that’s real to them.