The Art of Creating Resonance with your Audience

Do you want to create true resonance with the people you’re setting out to serve? 

Great! Then don’t just read this article. Do what we’ve done…

Our team just completed one of the hardest, most self reflective writing assignments we’ve ever done.

We wrote our Manifesto for The Great eCourse Adventure.

Essentially, breaking down what we believe in and stand for into a series of short, clear, concise statements that summarize why we do what we do and who we do it for.

We must have spent at least 30 hours mulling it over, talking about it, writing up draft after draft (most of which weren’t “IT”), plus many more hours distilling it to the essence and then sexifying it so others are excited to read it.

It was a big job… but so freaking worth it!

I know that sounds like a lot of time, but I couldn’t imagine a better use of our time at this stage of the game. The Manifesto acts as a map for every action, project we take on, marketing materials we put out and move we make with our business.

If ever we feel uncertain about a choice, we can draw upon our Manifesto and see if it’s in alignment or out of alignment.

It is now the solid foundation from everything we create and do.

Why Writing a Manifesto is Important? 

Every great movement began with a manifesto.

If you look at Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, it was his Manifesto. The Declaration of Independence was America’s manifesto. My friend, Nigel Seale who founded Earth Day Canada and was the Chairman of Global Earth Day. When he was involved they went from a very small annual celebration to involving 400 million people (pre-internet) He said they spent a great deal of time coming up with the Earth Day Manifesto before taking it to the world (they just didn’t call it that).

If you want to move, inspire and create resonance with your audience, then you need more than just a fancy Bio that tells people what you’ve done. This day and age, what you’ve done matters less than who you are being, what you believe in and what you are devoting your energy, time and life to.

If your work was a Movement, what would that movement be moving towards?

The Purpose of our Manifesto?

Our intention is to invoke and inspire resonance with the people we’ve created the Great eCourse Adventure for. When they read it on our “Why” page, if they’re the “right people” then they’ll feel a resonant, “YES I feel that same way!”

A well written Manifesto should be “Share-worthy,” relatable and potentially worthy of going viral.

Once we nail down our Manifesto we’re going to make it into an art piece that people can print out, hang up on a wall and/or share on social media.

What Questions Should We Ask Ourselves to Get Clear on Our Manifesto?

The process of flushing out your Manifesto is a deep, self reflective process. It’s not something you sit down and in an hour you’re done. You want to spend a solid chunk of time getting clear on:

  • What do I/We stand for?
  • What do I/We believe in?
  • Why do I/We believe in it?
  • What values do we live and work by?
  • How do we demonstrate our values?
  • If my/our work was a Movement, what would that movement be moving towards?

Once you get clear on these questions, then it’s time for the challenging part…

Distil your Manifesto down to the Essence:

Your manifesto shouldn’t be an essay. You want it to be a series of short, concise statements. They’re like affirmations or a declaration, which means they must be written that way.

You also want to make sure that the voice you use in your Manifesto aligns with the theme or personality of your brand and the culture of people you’re setting out to serve.

The voice you use should align with their voice AND your own true voice.

Once you’ve gotten the essence, it’s time to art’ify it:

Below is our finished Manifesto, which I’m sure we’ll come back to many times and make improvements or upgrades as we refine who we are and what we stand for. Hopefully it provides some useful creative inspiration for your own Manifesto (personal or business).

Once you complete yours’ be sure to turn it into a beautiful art piece that is worthy of being printed out, framed and hung up on a wall. Hang it in your office!

On our website, our Manifesto will go above our Bio because we feel it’s far more important than what we’ve done or what products we sell.

Manifesto

What is your Life or Business Manifesto?

If you’ve been inspired by reading this, then get out some paper, markers, crank some inspiring music, move your body and start asking yourself the questions I listed up above.

It may take you a day, or if like us, days to declare your Manifesto statements.

However, once it’s done, you have the rest of your life to work and live by it.

So instead of going back to social media to seek out the comfort of an inspiring Meme, create your own.

Then live by it!

We’d love to hear how this article resonated with you! Share in the comments section and circulate it around the internet.

Leave a Comment: