Great Communication Begins Long Before You Walk Onstage or Start a Team Meeting.

Hello Reader,

Here in Salt Lake City Sharon, Johnny and I got in line at 3:00 PM to see singer-songwriter and modern day bard Jesse Welles.

At 3:05, the sky opened.

For the next couple of hours, we sat through a total cloudburst under ponchos and a big umbrella as the pavement under our feet turned into a raging creek. My shoes were soaked. Johnny was very unhappy about the whole thing.

Sharon, as usual, was the chill one. 😂

Eventually the rain stopped. We shook everything out, the doors opened, my shoes squelched as we walked in and got absolutely tremendous seats, right up front.

I'm telling you this because Jesse Welles exemplifies something I talk about all the time:

You can hear that he has put in the reps. He has practiced.

Jesse is a fabulous performer. I play guitar and used to sing in a band, It’s obvious to me that he has been taking his art seriously for a long time.

The music is carefully crafted. The lyrics are thoughtful. The delivery matters. And he pays attention to the audience and how they react.

That’s what it takes to become a great musician.

It’s also what it takes to become a great speaker and a great leader.

• There’s the craft of creating the message.
• There are the words you choose.
• There’s the delivery and performance.

And then there’s the willingness to do it again and again, paying attention, learning, adjusting and getting better.

Back in April I flew to Dallas to see Jesse and his band. They were amazingly good then.

And here in Salt Lake City: they were even better.

They’ve done more than 100 shows together, and you can tell.

That’s the part people sometimes miss when they see someone who looks “natural.”

They’re seeing the outcome, not all the work that created it.

So here’s my micro-training for you:

Take one important piece of communication you have coming up and treat it like a craft.

Don’t just think about it. Craft it carefully. Practice it out loud.

Do it full-out, as though the audience is already there.

Notice what works. Notice what doesn’t. Adjust it.

Then do it again.

Because whether you want to be a rock star, a powerful leader, or a truly great speaker, there are no shortcuts around the reps.

And if you keep doing them, something magical happens:

You don’t just become better. You become someone capable of creating an experience people will sit through a downpour to have.

Here’s a little evidence of what I mean. This is a snippet of Jesse playing “Siddhartha,” one of my absolute favorites.

Listen to the words. Listen to the phrasing. Watch how completely they all own the song without trying too hard and just crush it like fine wine grapes.

That kind of naturalness and ease is earned.

🎥 Jesse playing “Siddhartha” in Salt Lake City is a wonderful example of what I mean when I say you can hear the reps he and his band have put in. Click. Turn up the sound. Enjoy.

If you’ve got an important talk or keynote that’s already good—but you know it could be great! Hit reply and let's connect. That’s work I love.

Wishing you success, John

P.S. Jesse, if this somehow finds you: Thank you. You’re a courageous dude with a genius of a muse. Keep channeling that amazing stuff.
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Shifting Consciousness One Breath, One Story At A Time | Michael Kass

Michael Kass is the founder of Story and Spirit. As a facilitator, coach, speaker, and award-winning storyteller, he's passionate about helping people, organizations and communities discover and harness the power of their stories to create change.
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Michael has over 18 years of experience working on staff and in the trenches with organizations across sectors including technology, social services, health care, arts and culture, and education. As a facilitator and coach, he focuses on helping clients reconnect with the deep passion underlying their work and address the core tensions and beliefs that may be getting in the way of growth. His work with organizations focuses on facilitating culture shift through storytelling, authentic conversation, and deep listening to foster clear internal and external communication and create thriving communities.
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Michael's training on storytelling, speaking, mindfulness and breathwork have been featured at events around the world. Partners and clients include The Walt Disney Company, Arts in Corrections, Unique CAMP, The House of Beautiful Business, Joint Idea, The Nomadic School of Wonder, The Well-Being Project, the Center for Nonprofit Management, NationBuilder, Kaiser Permanente, CreatorUp!, Swipe Out Hunger, the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles and many individual nonprofit and tech organizations. His storytelling has appeared on many podcasts and his solo storytelling show, Ceremony​, has toured nationally and garnered recognition including LA Weekly Pick of the Week, Best of Fringe at the San Francisco Fringe Festival, and Outstanding Solo Performance at the San Diego Fringe Festival.
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Michael is a graduate of Rice University and Northwestern University. He is an ACC coach certified by the International Coach Federation, a certified breathwork facilitator, and has completed Medicine Wheel training with Rites of Passage Vision Quest. Michael is a mentor with the Creative Visions Foundation and serves on the Board of Directors of the Breath Center. He likes brownies perhaps a little too much.

Learn more about Michael at StoryAndSpirit.org. Connect with him on LinkedIn, and follow him on Instagram.

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