Why you really want the Rule of One

The Rule of One lets you do more with less. Especially when it comes to connecting with those who need your expertise most.

The Rule of One happens before you design your talk, webinar (or blog post) and identify your key insight.

So what’s the rule? And how do you master it?

Start with only a single audience member or participant in mind. And dig deep.

While the idea of one may feel limiting—as it requires making choices and thus pushes against "all the people" you’d like to reach—it is the key to your impact.

You need to choose one person, so you can create expressly for them. You already know this feeling as a reader—it’s that instant of “wow, s/he wrote that just for me.”

Pro tip: try starting with an actual person you already know.

Once you have your ONE audience member in mind. Dig deep so you can uncover what’s relevant to him or her.

A little context here: I’ve learned a lot about the rule of one and digging deep from Joanna Wiebe, copywriter extraordinaire. While attending a recent webinar, I realized that what Joanna teaches about writing for ONE reader (for nailing a pitch or sales page) is absolutely on target for your ONE participant, or audience member.

With digging deep we’re talking about insides, not outsides.

Ask:
What does your ONE audience member/participant believe about themselves? their future? their world?

What does s/he see as their “problem” or goal? It’s possible here that they aren’t yet aware of the actual problem—they may just be aware of a symptom or pain, or simply sense something is wrong.

Whatever their stage of awareness, what urgency do they feel to make things better?

What is their most recent or biggest regret? [Trust me, this last question from Joanna cuts to the heart of things.]

Last week, you already began this process of deep digging when you considered what you wanted your speaker evaluation forms to say, and asked from the perspective of your audience: “what did you learn?"

Now you’re approaching the same target from another direction, by asking: “Who is this learner, in all of their hopes, questions, and frustrations?”

Only when you unpack who your learner (or audience member) is can you connect with them, by crafting the ONE message they are ready for.

As Joanna reminds us: Show them this ONE message, and don’t show them any others.

In our noisy world, people can take in ONE quality idea at a time.

What’s yours?
And most importantly who is it for?

You need to know, so you can create a lasting transformation for them.

When you follow the Rule of One, your message crafted for your ONE audience member will end up connecting powerfully with others like him or her. And that starts a meaningful conversation with the people you most want to reach.