Narrator: Imagine the scene: It’s the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. On stage is one of Hollywood’s most successful directors, Michael Bay, ready to help Samsung launch its new state-of-the-art television. But moments into his presentation, the teleprompter fails. Bay freezes. He stammers, struggles to find his words, and then, in a moment of public collapse, he apologizes and walks off stage. This wasn't just a minor hiccup; it was a complete communication meltdown broadcast to the world. How can someone so accomplished, a master of visual storytelling, fail so spectacularly at the simple act of speaking to an audience? This incident reveals a critical truth: a great message is useless if it isn't delivered in a way that connects. In their book, Communicate to Influence, authors Ben and Kelly Decker argue that this kind of failure is all too common because we’ve been taught to focus on information, not influence. They provide a roadmap to transform any communication from a simple data dump into a powerful, memorable experience that inspires action.

Narrator: The modern world presents a perfect storm of communication challenges. The authors identify three societal trends that make it harder than ever to be heard. First is the "trust gap." Citing data from the Edelman Trust Barometer, they reveal that less than one-fifth of the public believes leaders will tell the truth when facing a difficult issue. This deep-seated skepticism means messages from authority figures are often met with immediate resistance. Second, we live in an "attention economy." With endless digital distractions, the average adult attention span has plummeted. If a message isn't immediately engaging, the audience is gone, mentally checking out or physically turning to their phones. The story of Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, who would famously pull out his phone in meetings if a presenter was wasting his time, illustrates this ruthless new reality. Finally, in a world drowning in data, people have a "thirst for inspiration." They don't just want facts; they want purpose and a reason to care. These three forces—distrust, distraction, and a desire for meaning—mean that old communication methods are obsolete. Simply informing people is no longer enough.

Narrator: To address this crisis, the Deckers introduce a powerful mental model called the Communicator's Roadmap. It’s a simple grid with two axes. The vertical axis measures Emotional Connection, from low to high. The horizontal axis measures Content Focus, from self-centered to audience-centered. These axes create four quadrants: Inform, Direct, Entertain, and Inspire. Most business communication is stuck in the bottom-left "Inform" quadrant, characterized by low emotional connection and self-centered content. Think of a dry, data-heavy presentation. The goal is to move to the top-right "Inspire" quadrant, which combines high emotional connection with audience-centered content. This is where true influence happens. A perfect example of this shift is comedian Amy Poehler's 2013 speech at a Variety event. She could have simply stayed in the "Entertain" quadrant by being funny. Instead, she created a high emotional connection and then shifted her content to be about the audience, asking them to think of their own children before telling a powerful story about the Worldwide Orphans Foundation. By moving from entertaining to inspiring, she moved the audience to tears and motivated them to act.

Narrator: The authors argue that what you do speaks far louder than what you say. The journey up the roadmap’s vertical axis, toward higher emotional connection, is achieved through behavior. They cite research showing that when verbal and non-verbal cues are inconsistent, people overwhelmingly believe the non-verbal. This is why they stress that "behavior reigns." A compelling illustration of this is found on the TV show Shark Tank. Before entrepreneurs can even begin their pitch, they are required to stand in silence for five minutes while the investors, or "Sharks," simply observe them. The Sharks are "thin-slicing"—making rapid judgments about the entrepreneurs' confidence, trustworthiness, and composure based entirely on their body language. Many are mentally dismissed before they say a single word. To build this crucial behavioral trust, the Deckers outline five key habits: strong eye communication, positive energy and posture, purposeful gestures, authentic facial expressions, and a varied vocal tone. Mastering these non-verbal skills is what allows a communicator to build the emotional foundation necessary for their message to be received.

Narrator: While behavior builds emotional connection, the content itself must also be designed to resonate. To do this, the Deckers introduce a toolkit they call SHARPs. This acronym stands for Stories, Humor, Analogies, References, and Pictures. These are not just decorative add-ons; they are the tools that make a message memorable and emotionally engaging. Analogies are particularly powerful. The authors tell the story of the Great Baltimore Fire of 1904. When fire crews from neighboring cities arrived to help, they discovered their hoses wouldn't fit Baltimore's hydrants because the couplings weren't standardized. The outside help was rendered useless, and the fire raged. This historical event serves as a brilliant analogy for a company struggling with non-standardized technical specs, making a complex internal problem instantly understandable and urgent. Similarly, personal stories create a powerful bond. When John McGee, an executive at Informatica, wanted to talk about the importance of trust, he didn't use corporate jargon. He told a funny, vulnerable story about teaching his teenage daughter, Maxine, to drive a stick shift. The audience connected with him not as an executive, but as a father, making his message about trust far more impactful.

Narrator: To move content from self-centered to audience-centered, the authors provide a practical planning tool called the Decker Grid. This is not about writing a script, which can sound robotic and inauthentic. Instead, it's about creating a solid structure that allows for a natural, confident delivery. The process begins with the four "Cornerstones." First is the Listeners: who are they and what do they care about? Second is the Point of View: what is the single, most important idea you want them to take away? Third are the Action Steps: what, specifically, do you want them to do? And fourth are the Benefits: what's in it for them? A case study from an energy company's mandatory compliance training shows this in action. The training was typically boring. By using the Grid, the general counsel shifted the Point of View from a self-centered "Compliance is important" to an audience-centered "As leaders, we set the tone." The Action Step wasn't just "follow the rules," but "actively look for and share examples of good compliance." The Benefit wasn't just avoiding fines, but building a culture of integrity they could be proud of. This structured, audience-focused approach transformed a dull requirement into an inspiring call to leadership.

Narrator: The book's ultimate challenge is for readers to become "10X communicators"—people who don't just aim for incremental improvement but for a tenfold impact. This requires "moonshot" thinking. The quintessential example is President John F. Kennedy’s 1961 declaration that America would put a man on the moon by the end of the decade. At the time, the technology didn't exist. It was a wildly audacious goal. But in his famous "We choose to go to the moon" speech, Kennedy didn't just present a technical challenge. He framed it as an answer to the human spirit's desire for adventure, a testament to national will, and a race against oppression. He made the goal about the audience—the American people—and their identity. He created a vision so inspiring that it mobilized an entire nation to achieve the impossible. Becoming a 10X communicator, the Deckers argue, is about embracing this same mindset. It’s about having the courage to be authentic, the humility to focus on the audience, and the vision to call people to a higher purpose.

Narrator: The single most important takeaway from Communicate to Influence is that effective communication is not an innate gift but a deliberate, learnable skill centered on creating an audience-focused experience. It’s a fundamental shift away from asking, "What do I want to say?" to instead asking, "What does my audience need to hear, feel, and do?" The authors provide the tools—the Roadmap, the Behaviors of Trust, SHARPs, and the Decker Grid—to engineer this experience with intention.

The book's most challenging idea is that playing it safe is the most dangerous thing a communicator can do. In a world of distrust and distraction, a bland, "professional," and information-heavy message is guaranteed to fail. The real challenge is to embrace vulnerability, to tell authentic stories, and to have the courage to inspire. The question it leaves us with is not whether we can become better communicators, but whether we are willing to answer the call to lead with influence, not just authority.