Hi,
Tell me if you’ve ever found yourself here…
You write a strong piece of content. It could be anything — an email to a colleague, an update for investors, or a LinkedIn post.
Let’s go with a LinkedIn post for now.
You have something worth saying, and you say it. But then you read it again. And you start thinking about all the situations where your advice might not apply. The edge cases where you’d actually recommend the opposite. And the ways you could be wrong.
So you add a sentence here to “clarify.” And another sentence there so people “don’t misunderstand.” And a final one to make sure everyone knows this “only applies in certain situations.”
Before you know it, the strong opinion you wanted to share has been watered down into something that’s not worth anyone’s attention. Least of all your own. So you delete it, and the thing that was worth saying never gets said.
Been there? I know I have.
Last week, I decided to push past it.
I wanted to talk about AI, specifically why I think using AI tools like ChatGPT to help write content (like LinkedIn posts) shouldn’t be something anyone should hesitate to do if it helps them get past the fear and anxiety of creating content in the first place.
Did I mean in every situation? No. Did I mean forever, without exception? Also no.
But if I’d included every edge case and “but nots” in my original post, it wouldn’t have sounded confident. It almost certainly wouldn’t have gotten the reach it did (13,000+ impressions and counting). And it wouldn’t have sparked the conversations it did (nearly 200 comments).
So what exactly happened in those comments and conversations? A lot of people pointed out the edge cases where my advice fell short. They explained where, and why, they disagreed.
And guess what? I agreed with many of them.
I used the comments as an opportunity to add the nuance I didn’t include in my original post. I acknowledged where my thinking was different. I thanked people for being thoughtful and for pushing back.
And every. single. one. of them met me with the same energy.
No one called me a flip-flopper. No one assumed I didn’t know what I was talking about.
(Or at least, no one I actually cared about).
In less than a day, I made more than 20 new connections with people in my industry who were curious, kind, and generous in their thinking. And they’ve continued to be since.
It was a good reminder that when you’re trying to convey a message and spark engagement, do it with confidence.
Thought leadership doesn’t require perfection. It does require conviction.
You don’t have to account for every edge case in the original post. You don’t have to consider every possible objection. And you definitely don’t have to water down an idea just because it isn’t universally true in every scenario.
Strong ideas invite connection. Let nuance live in the conversations.
When you lead with confidence, while still leaving space for others to engage thoughtfully, most of the time, they will.
So if you’ve been sitting on an idea because you’re worried about the “but what ifs,” consider this your permission slip to post it anyway.
Say the thing that’s worth saying. Then have conversations to figure out the rest.
See you next week,
Megan