Language Shift

I want to show you what one of the most useful sessions I run actually looks like. ↓

One of the sessions I run most often is what I call a language-shift session.

Here’s what it actually is.

Most senior leaders are using language that worked for them five years ago, in a role that was smaller than the one they’re trying to land now. The language was right for that level. It’s wrong for this one.

They use words like “helped” when they led. They say “we” when the call was theirs. They describe scope when they should be describing impact. They sound, accidentally, like the person they were three jobs ago.

A language-shift session is 60 minutes of working through this in real time. We take a specific situation such as, your About section, the answer to “tell me about your biggest accomplishment,” the way you describe your current role in a networking conversation and we rewrite it together.

Not generic advice. Your actual sentences. Word by word.

By the end of the session you have a worksheet. Specific language for specific situations. The exact opening line for a networking call. The exact way to describe the last initiative you led. The exact phrase to use when someone asks what you’re looking for next.

Most clients tell me afterward that the difference shows up in the very next conversation they have. Because the language they were using had become invisible to them and once you hear it, you can’t unhear it.

If you’ve been feeling like your interviews are technically solid but somehow not landing — this might be the session you need before the next one.