Well Said Wednesday: Messaging Is Exhausting This Year. It's Not Just You.

The murder hornets pushed me right over the edge.

You probably saw the freak-out memes and “breaking news” stories about the latest 2020 curveball – Asian giant hornets, aka murder hornets, named for their ability to wipe out whole bee colonies.

So when the top story in my local paper highlighted that several local parks had set traps to capture them, I was thrown. I had heard about them, I just didn’t realize how close they were to me. 

And I kind of broke.  My concentration evaporated and my writing priorities for the day looked about as appealing as…a murder hornet.  

Apparently having one more thing to “deal with” this year was one thing too many. 
 

How many times have you felt overwhelmed or exhausted by all the “new normals” we’ve had thrown at us this year?

And here’s the thing. A challenging year creates the need for challenging messaging.

And challenging messaging is exhausting to create.

It’s not just you. It’s me. It’s all of us.

I’m helping my content coaching clients navigate all sorts of new messaging waters…new Covid-appropriate work protocols, a heartbreaking decision to close an office, trying to keep the schedule filled, showing meaningful support for marginalized communities.

These are hard messages to write and deliver.

If you’re struggling with them it’s not because you’re a lousy writer or failing in some way or aren't cut out to be an entrepreneur.

 It simply means you’re doing a difficult thing that you don't have experience with. 

The changes and uncertainty making us rethink our content is exhausting. Much of the messaging we’re dealing with is heartbreaking.  

• Be gentle with yourself.

• Give yourself time and permission to be thoughtful about what you truly want to say and why you are saying it.

• Sit in the place of your audience for a moment and imagine what they’re facing.

• Remember that all content is a conversation, not just noise of stuff you’re “supposed” to deliver to someone’s email box every month.

And of course, if you need some guidance or a sounding board for whatever tough message you are staring down, I'm happy to chat. Grab some time on my calendar.