If you are a business leader, public speaker, content creator, or just someone tapped to give a presentation, you will need to convey a message. Your success will be judged not by the organization of your data or the passion you exude (although those are undoubtedly important) but by how well you communicate your message to the audience you find yourself attempting to connect with. The most successful communicators often adhere to a few simple rules. Rules that if you keep in mind, will allow you to add "expert communicator" to your skill set.

   The first thing to keep in mind is who your target audience is. This is not just a generic, common-sense point, but a crucial aspect of effective communication. Your audience is not just a group of people you're speaking to, but the very reason for your presentation. Understanding who they are and what they need to hear will determine the best way to deliver your message. This does not mean 'talking down' to groups you think might have trouble understanding the more technical parts of your presentation. However, crafting your message in layperson's terms may be appropriate. In most professional settings, you should avoid adopting slang or colloquialisms of groups of people that you may be addressing but that you are not a part of, as many are likely to find this inauthentic or, worse, offensive. Despite your intentions (attempt at humor, showcase an apparent divide that can be overcome, etc.), this will often end any chance you had in connecting with the audience.

   The second thing to remember when crafting your message is a direct extension of the first. It is absolutely, one hundred percent all on you, the communicator, to ensure your message lands as intended. Miscommunication and misunderstanding are always a risk. We have all heard the adage, "Think before you speak." Taking the time to plan out your message allows you the opportunity to not only spot grammatical errors but also to root out vagueness or regional turns-of-phrase that your audience may not be familiar with. When preparing, you should actively look to eliminate anything unclear. Fill in vagueness with details, and be ready to explain every figure of speech that you use by adding context. And depending on the purpose of your presentation, speech, etc., test your work with people you trust. It is possible to be too close to what you have prepared to spot this type of misstep. Simply put, personal biases are the hardest for you to see. When it is appropriate, let others help you. Regardless, avoiding miscommunication is not your audience's responsibility; it is yours.

   On the topic of personal biases, unless you are a content creator or you are writing an opinion article, you should avoid being biased as much as possible. (This is an extension of knowing your target audience.) We are all individuals, and while many of us may have similar experiences, none of us have the "same" lived experience. The thing to remember here while delivering your message is "Your Truth is not The Truth," so if you rely on your biases to convey your message, you will lose the parts of the group you are trying to reach that do not share your bias. Avoid it unless you are one hundred percent certain that, when it comes to your audience, "Your Truth is also Their Truth."  

   Lastly, never underestimate the power of storytelling. The human brain has literally evolved to use storytelling to teach lessons, share information, and better remember what we have been told. There are some circumstances where it may not be appropriate to use storytelling as a tool for delivering your message, but that is the exception, not the rule. Proper storytelling will not only reach your audience in a way that charts and graphs never will, but it will also help clarify your points, as discussed earlier.

   We could discuss hundreds of other tips and dig deep into the specifics of when to do this and why never to do that, but if you are not a communications professional, you may never need anything more than these tips. They are the most basic building blocks of effective communication, and while they may seem so obvious, all you have to do is look around just a little, and you will find multiple examples of people trying to make a point but missing the mark because they didn't follow these tips. Making an elevator pitch to investors, writing a social media post in support of your favorite political candidate, or communicating whatever to whomever, these tips will help you be more effective.

   We often discuss government efforts to control the behavior of the governed. We talk about censorship of the media (including social media and platforms like Amazon) to control the information available. We speak about lawfare weaponizing the judicial system against those who believe differently than the political agenda of the regime in charge. But we often overlook what is perhaps the most insidious form of crowd control, "the Nudge."

   I first started talking about the psychological attempt to control people's behavior back in August of 2013 when the Obama White House accidentally publicly admitted to forming a "Nudge Squad" when Maya Shankar, a White House senior adviser on social and behavioral sciences at the time, sent out recruitment e-mails to fill positions on their "Behavioral Insights Team." The goal of the group being to subtly influence people's behavior and "experiment" with various techniques to "tweak" behavior so the general public will do the things that the powers-that-be determine to be acceptable. (And just as an FYI, the group was modeled on a similar nudge group in the U.K. that was already in operation. Most developed nations now have publicly acknowledged Behavioral Insights Teams.)

   The World Economic Forum is an organization that is no stranger to controversy. The WEF has a political slant toward globalism with zero concern for individual liberty. This is why so many conservatives take issue with many of their "recommendations," and so many so-called progressives stand ready to champion their policy agendas. Many on the left, including legacy media, are ever-prepared to defend the WEF by calling anyone who points out the explicit threats to freedom that the WEF pushes... (wait for it) a conspiracy theorist. The WEF started an initiative named The Great Reset; Klaus Schwab writes books titled The Fourth Industrial Revolution, COVID-19: The Great Reset, The Great Narrative (The Great Reset), and Stakeholder Capitalism: A Global Economy that Works for Progress, People and Planet, each pushing the ideas of changing (using technological advancements and any excuses that present themselves) all of the economic systems that allow for class mobility and recognize individual human rights; and it is the people who point out the stated goals of the global elites (in the own words) who are "spreading disinformation" and engaging in trafficking of conspiracy theories. 

   The WEF has for some time been promoting the "man-caused" climate change narrative and, as an off-chute of that narrative, made claims that how we eat in the world's developed nations "must" change. One of the "recommended" changes is how we consume protein. They say that cattle ranching is especially hazardous to our environment due to the land and water requirements and the expelling of methane gas from the cattle. But don't worry, they have the solution to your protein needs after they put an end (that is one of their stated goals) to farmers raising animals for meat... bugs. 

   The WEF, along with other globalist organizations, has talked about substituting insects for more traditional meat sources for some time now, but they really caught the attention of a lot of people in July of 2021 when they published an article titled Why we need to give insects the role they deserve in our food systems, on their own website. They estimated worldwide population growth by 2050 and insisted that insect farming as a food source for people and animals is "environmentally friendly." Since the time "the nudge" has been on.

   The effort has been a two-pronged approach, with energy being spent trying to convince the consumer and various forms of pressure (often in the form of ESG scoring and "cancel campaigns") on food suppliers and manufacturers. Recently, the effort to change the manufacturing practices of food companies to include insects as ingredients has been stepped up via media like magazines and newsletters (both physical and digital) directed at the chief officers of food companies and quality and safety control officers. The idea being that if the companies start using insects, the end consumer only has two choices; eat the product or don't. And if enough food companies use insects, the choice for many becomes to eat or starve. By successfully nudging those who bring food to market, they no longer need to nudge the public; you are rich enough to go around the typical supply chain channels or settle for what's available.

   Much of the focus is on trying to convince manufacturers that the public will see insects as "normal food" soon, so the current customer's reluctance to consume insect protein will be overcome by introducing more products featuring those proteins. Food companies are also being told that other organizations (Universities, behavioral scientists, NGOs, and governmental "Behavioral Insights Teams" in Europe and North America) are working on nudging the consumers' attitudes toward insects as a food source. The overall message is to start making small changes now that most consumers won't notice, and before long, insect proteins will be more widely accepted than plant-based proteins. On that day, food companies can go full "bug burgers," save tons of money, and they will have helped the WEF save the world. (At least, that's what the WEF wants everyone to believe.)

   Look, insects are a significant part of the diets of large numbers of people around the world. But that is primarily due to a lack of options. If you want to eat bugs and worms, enjoy them as long as you follow safety standards. If you are a food company that wants to accommodate that niche market, then figure out how to make a profit and go for it. Just don't let the WEF, or anyone else, "nudge" you into it. As for me, a scorpion will never replace a nice thick steak. But you do you.

   The real issue here isn't what you eat or climate change; it's control. The WEF has told us that we will own nothing and that we will like it. (What they meant is "like it or not.") They are the elites, and we are just using up their resources. We must stand for individual liberty and against the "Tyranny of the Minority" (HT to Ed Brodow for using his phrasing but not the way he used it.) that the global elites represent.

   P.S. If you were to read Gregory Wrightstone's (Executive Director of the CO2 Coalition) books Inconvenient Facts: The Science That Al Gore Doesn't Want You to Know and A Very Convenient Warming: How modest warming and more CO2 are benefiting humanity, you might not be as easily nudged when they try to scare you with climate change.