Honestly, there are lot of issues and dynamics that can stop someone from making content for their business, whether it’s to send out to an email list, or post on social media, or some other purpose.
And, the whole subject of making content is a big one, and I don’t want to try to tackle it all right now. I just want to name one thing that recently has recently helped no fewer than three different clients be able to get their ideas out of their heads and heart, and into the hands of their clients.
It’s simply this: that their content, your content, is complex. It’s nuanced, and full of many layers, and it’s a LOT.
So, for instance, if someone is wanting to communicate about how to heal from a big issue, that can’t be reduced to a meme. Or 1 minute reel. Or even a longish article.
And, attempting to do so is just wrong. It doesn’t honor the work, and it can either do harm by making folks in your audience believe something is much simpler than it is. Or they just won’t believe you, because it’s not true.
So, don’t do that.
Thankfully, I have a pretty easy workaround, one that I already used in this particular article.
“This topic is much bigger than an article…”
Here’s the workaround: simply acknowledge the scope of the topic, and then tell them you’re just going to get at one small piece.
The underlying premise is that we let each thing be what it is.
A group interaction is different than a 1-1 session.
A virtual retreat is different than an in-person retreat.
A large course is different than an intimate small group or mastermind.
And… an article, or video, is different from an in-depth healing process.
If you let the thing that it is be the thing that it is, then you can relax into it, and stop with all of the effort of trying to make it something else.
This article, for instance, can’t teach you how to make compelling content for your business, not on its own.
However, it can help you get traction, it can help remove at least one obstacle, and help you take the next step.
That’s all your content needs to do.
Acknowledge, and then give what you can.
This is true no matter what the context.
If I teach a course, as I do quite regularly, I can’t teach the whole course in one class session. And the book I wrote, I couldn’t communicate it all in just one chapter, or one section of a chapter.
Any content you create is part of a larger body of work, and it can just be what it is: a short 5-10 minute conversation about one small helpful aspect.
Some ways to word the acknowledgement.
Sometimes it’s hard to figure out how to word the acknowledgement, so here are three examples. Hopefully it both sparks your creativity, and helps you feel more free to bring out some of your wisdom and experience to your audience… or to help gather your audience.
“X is a big topic, and I’m not going to overwhelm you with it. Here’s one piece that I use with my clients to help them start to get traction with it.”
“There are no simple formulas to Y, it’s such an individual experience. However, there are some elements that I use with my clients that help most people take a solid step forward. Here’s one of those elements.”
“This is not paint-by-number, as I know you understand. What I want to do is explain one of the principles that can help you get your arms around it, and take a step with it, in a way that might bring you some relief, or at least help you feel some movement with this topic.”
How does this land with you? Questions? Pushback? Or other ways you have of wording this?
With love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
When you want to make a different in the world, and need to depend on your business to support you.
p.s. Do you want to run groups in your business?
As you can imagine, group facilitation is not a topic that you can master in a few weeks. However, you are allowed to do things imperfectly!
Our next course, which starts November 5, is on Running Groups in Your Business. It’s only four Tuesdays, so it’s not going to get you to mastery.
However, it *will* help you get your arms around some really important topics, and help you sidestep some common problems, and troubling dynamics.
And, I’m sure we’ll go deep in the live calls on how to apply it to individual businesses, so there’s going to be a LOT of learning.
If you’ve been thinking of, or already are, running groups in your business, whether it’s to help more people, to free up your time, or to make a more money, join me, and let me share my 30 years of teaching experience with you.
