Speaking the Right Language: Why Clarity Fails Before You Ever Say a Word
That translation is friction. And friction cannot be eliminated by adding more words.
This is where most business owners make their first mistake. When a message fails to land, they assume the solution is explanation. They add detail. They clarify further. They repeat themselves. What they’re actually doing is increasing the translation load, asking the listener to work harder to interpret meaning that was never native to them in the first place.
Translation kills clarity.
When you speak your native language—conceptually, not just linguistically—you don’t translate. Neither does your listener. Meaning moves directly from one mind to another without resistance. You naturally attract people who think the same way you do.
This is why clarity is not about appealing to everyone. It’s about resonance, not reach. When you speak in your own language, you stop convincing and start aligning. The wrong people self-select out. The right people lean in.
Clarity fails long before presentation or delivery. It fails when we speak to the wrong audience, in the wrong language, with the wrong structure—and then attempt to fix the problem by talking more.
True clarity begins with selection. Who are you speaking to? What language do they already think in? And do you understand the grammar that governs how meaning works in that world?