January 30, 2026
I spent two full weeks analyzing 64 of the world’s best speakers, and I found that there are five techniques that they use over and over.
If you just focus on them, you’ll speak like the top 1%.
Let’s start with the first technique.
Let me show you a quick video of one of the smoothest communicators on this planet, Barack Obama.
Now, can you spot what technique he’s using?
Hello everybody.
For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Michelle’s husband.
Just one line, but it’s absolutely brilliant.
Most people start by listing their titles, their achievements.
They say, “Hi, I’m Barack Obama. I’m the president of the United States.”
No, he doesn’t do that. He introduces himself through his wife, which is completely unexpected.
The best speakers in the world don’t start in a way that is predictable.
They say something slightly unexpected to hook their listeners. And you can do the same.
If you’re giving a talk or leading a meeting or starting a video, start with something that makes people think, “Wait, what?”
For example:
The average office desk has 400 times more bacteria than the average toilet seat. Today, ladies and gentlemen, we’re here to talk about workplace hygiene.
Obviously, that statement should be relevant to the rest of your talk, but that quick surprise tells your audience, “This is going to be different.”
Now let’s look at the entrepreneur and famous creator Codie Sanchez.
Can you spot what technique she’s using?
I made a huge mistake in one of my businesses that cost me something like a million bucks, and it’s the number one thing that I think people should know before they start a business, and that I wish I knew.
I don’t think you should ever, ever, ever, if you didn’t hear me in the back, do a 50% partnership.
Boom. No fluff, no buildup. Just, here’s the number one thing.
What she does, I call the one thing technique.
Great speakers don’t drown their listeners in information.
They zoom in on what matters most.
They use words like the number one, the single biggest, or the most important.
That language signals clarity and authority.
So instead of sharing, “Here are my 10 lessons,” or keeping it super vague, say, “The single best way to motivate your team is X, Y, and Z.”
Or, “If there’s one thing I’ve learned after 10 years, it’s this.”
And then stick to the one message you really want them to take away.
While Obama connects through humor and Codie through clarity, the next speaker, Jordan Peterson, creates a picture in your mind.
So imagine you have a wife that maybe you got lucky and you attracted someone who’s a little bit above your caliber, or at least that’s what you think.
And maybe you’re right. She’s attractive and you’re happy about that in some ways, but what about those other men?
So you go out one night and she dresses up and she looks pretty sharp, and you’re a little unhappy about that because what about those other men?
She asks you how she looks, and you take that opportunity to punish her for her beauty. You do that a hundred times and you watch what happens. You think, “God, you’ve let yourself go.”
See what just happened?
He’s not just telling you about jealousy. He’s showing it.
You can picture the couple. You can feel the tension. You’re in the room with them.
The top 1% use a technique called the imaginary world.
So next time you explain something, don’t start abstract. Create a picture in your listener’s mind.
Instead of saying, “Deadlines cause stress,” say, “Imagine it’s 11:55 p.m. The project is due in five minutes at midnight, and your laptop freezes.” Boom.
Or instead of saying, “Our team needs to collaborate better,” say, “Imagine three people sitting in silence on a Zoom call, each waiting for someone else to speak first.”
Now people aren’t just hearing you, they’re watching your words.
That’s how you make your idea stick.
Next up is an example from entrepreneur and famous creator Alexi.
He has a very unique style of communicating, but there’s one technique that he uses all the time.
I had this teacher. So I’m a freshman in high school and I’m walking through the hallway, and this teacher, who is an admin of some kind, walks out of his office and he’s like, “Son, you work out?”
That teacher, Mr. Given, ended up working out with me every day in high school and showed me how to train. He probably saw on some level that I was an angsty teenager who felt angry about whatever.
During our workout sessions, I would be like, “Man, I’m going to come back at our 10-year reunion. I’m going to show him. He’s going to be working for me.”
He’s like, “No, he’s not. And you’re not going to do that. Not if I have anything to say about it.”
Because if you come back at a 10-year reunion and say, “Hey John, look at everything I have. Look at me now,” the guy’s going to laugh and be like, “You did all of this to try and prove me wrong? Man, I feel sorry for you.”
He was like, “The only thing you can do is win so big that all of them constantly compare themselves to you, and then you’ll forget they exist.”
See what he did there?
He could have just said, “Don’t live to prove others wrong.” But instead, he shares a story that makes his message stick.
The top 1% teach through stories.
So when you want to teach something, don’t just share the advice.
Instead, share the moment that taught you that advice. Zoom in on one specific scene.
Where were you? What was happening? What were the exact words someone said? What were you thinking?
And then tell us what you learned from that experience.
We can’t talk about elite communication skills without mentioning Steve Jobs.
Check out what he does when he’s asked a question at Stanford.
The most important thing that you personally learned at Apple that you’re doing at NeXT?
Good question.
I’m not sure I learned this when I was at Apple, but I learned it based on the data when I was at Apple.
He says absolutely nothing for a full 20 seconds.
He thinks. He breathes. He lets the room wait. And that’s what makes everyone lean in.
The top 1% use silence strategically. When you pause, you show that you’re in control.
It helps you land a point, and it gives you time to give the best response possible.
So before you answer a question, pause.
After you make that key point, pause.
Own the silence, because sometimes the most powerful thing you can say is nothing at all.
These five techniques will change how people see you.
But don’t worry, you don’t need to use all five at once.
Start with one. Practice it in your next meeting, video, or talk.
And if you want to go deeper and learn how to brilliantly articulate your thoughts, check out this next article. There, I’ll share some of my favorite techniques.
See you there.
P.S. Want to become a stronger communicator?
Here are two ways I can support you:
👉 Want to tell more engaging stories? Join our next Storytelling Workshop.
👉 Want to speak with confidence and clarity? Check out our Communication Skills Training.
Both are fun, practical, and designed to help you grow fast.
Are you ready to transform your storytelling skills?
Discover how your storytelling skills score and uncover useful insights to help you become a charismatic storyteller:
