The Pre-Apology
Listen to the Apologizer before he actually says anything. There is a runway first. Sorry to jump in. This is probably obvious. I might be totally off here, but. By the time the real point arrives, the room has been told three times not to take it too seriously. He thinks the softening is politeness. It is not. It is a set of instructions to the room about how little to weight what comes next, and the room follows instructions. The pre-apology is insurance against a rejection that has not happened yet, and the premium is the credibility of the idea itself. Here is the test. If you cut every word that comes before your first real sentence, does the point get weaker, or just clearer? It gets clearer. It always gets clearer. Start there. Start on the point.
Tomorrow: the Apologizer from another angle.
The Right Altitude. Available now. therightaltitudebook.com
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