The Myth of the Polished Message:
Please Stop Trying to “Nail It” Before You’ve Even Said It Out Loud
I’ve seen a lot over the years of doing this work and supporting entrepreneurs and visionaries as they find, shape, and try to share their message. I’ve been in several seats: the eager and naive attendee who wants to support and be part of something meaningful; the person helping design the classroom experience and curriculum; and the one saying, gently but honestly, “Hey, maybe you’re not ready for this yet.”
But year after year, I watch people sign up for coaching or speaker programs with one goal at the top of their mind: land a keynote. No real context. No clarity around the topic, the audience, or the kind of moment they want to create. Just the word. The idea. The title.
They begin with something real… something layered, magnetic, and deeply felt. They heard an intimate call. They feel a pull. They know they’re meant to do something more. Something powerful. But the moment we dive in and start shaping it, they lose the plot…
Suddenly, they’re reaching for big words. Sanding off the edges. Pulling out the pitch deck… And just like that, we’re no longer talking about what matters. We’re singularly focused on what sounds “keynote-worthy,” and in the process, we lose sight of all the beautiful, timely, worthwhile messages trying to come through. Messages that are often meant for the person a few steps behind, someone still listening closely, quietly, in the wings.
Here’s the thing: it’s not that wanting a keynote is the problem. It’s that people get so fixated on the word that they lose sight of the work.
They cling to this one narrow path, forgetting that the keynote isn’t a destination, but instead, simply one expression. One stage. One opportunity. One avenue.
And let me be clear, I love the keynote stage. Some of my favorite work has been helping people craft messages for it, claim it, and absolutely crush it. But here’s the part where things get muddy, and frankly those in this work don’t pause to say it out loud enough: the keynote isn’t the only stage.
When we treat it like it is, we start stuffing beautiful visions, callings, and messages into a box instead of creating something real and resonant. Something that can stretch across mediums, move through different rooms, and adapt to different moments.
Because the truth is, most people don’t arrive to this work with a perfectly polished, platform-ready message. And they shouldn’t have to. You don’t find your message by hiding it until it’s done. You find it by using it. By being out in the world with it. Testing. Talking. Teaching. Listening. Letting it grow through actual connection.
Sorry if that’s not the message you were hoping for. But this work… speaking, teaching, storytelling, leading, it’s people-centered. So how are you supposed to grow in it without being with the people?
You don’t get clarity in isolation. You get it in motion. In conversation. In community. In the actual, unpredictable, sometimes-messy act of trying to communicate what you mean.
This isn’t about building something flawless behind a curtain and hoping the world jumps to attention the moment you finally emerge, perfect, polished, and fully formed. It’s not really practical to expect a loyal, committed audience to meet you at the top without context, without insight, without having brought them along for the ride.
Look at anyone at the top of their game and trace their path backward. You’ll see their visibility. Of showing up, sharing thoughts, testing ideas in small rooms, online, off the record. You’ll see the breadcrumbs of a body of work, not just a single moment that launched everything. Their so-called “big break” didn’t come out of nowhere. They was built on trust, resonance, repetition.
They weren’t waiting to be discovered. They were already doing the work.
Because being visible enough to rise and truly meet people in a moment and create real impact and shift isn’t luck or timing. It’s the result of devotion. Of doing the inner work. Of staying in deep relationship with your message and the people it's meant to serve, long before any spotlight shows up to validate it. It’s not about arriving fully formed. It’s about being real enough, consistent enough, and brave enough to show up before the spotlight hits.
I’m not someone chasing a multi-keynote-a-year career life. I like small and unconventional stages. I like nuance. I like shaping ideas live, in real time, in real rooms. I’m an information track, not a presenter or a performer. But I do spend a lot of time in and around the keynote world, and from this seat, I’ve had a front-row view of what’s actually working and what’s shifting.
The keynote isn’t dying. But it’s not the only door. And it’s definitely not the fastest one.
So let’s talk about what is working.
Yes, the big, fancy stages are still there. But even the top-tier performers aren’t doing th 20-40+ gigs a year anymore.
Meanwhile, there continues to be this quiet, powerful underground of people leading smaller workshops, podcasts, and retreats that completely reframe how a small group of people see themselves. They’re getting booked again and again. Why? Because the format fits the message. Because it meets the moment. Because it actually connects.
Your audience might not be “out there.” They might be right here.
We spend so much time trying to craft a message that works in the biggest room possible, we forget about the people already leaning in. The ones commenting on the unplanned and messy posts. The ones sending quiet DMs saying, “That thing you said really helped.”
So yes — polish the message if you want. Make it sing. Make it strong. But don’t wait until it’s perfect. Don’t sideline your voice waiting for some imaginary readiness. Don’t spend your whole life preparing to get on a stage and miss all the places you were already being heard.
You can want the keynote. You can earn the keynote. Just don’t make it the only proof you were worth listening to.
