How to not communicate with a crowd

It’s difficult to talk to no one. Talking to a crowd is talking to no one.

When you talk to, say, one person, you automatically personalize. You know you’re talking to one person, that person.

But we often forget to personalize when we talk to a crowd. Instead, we see a crowd and talk to a crowd. That’s when we feel we’re talking to no one. . . because we are talking to no one. We’re talking to no one person – we’re trying to talk to a crowd.

Funny thing about crowds: crowds aren’t really humans. Crowds are made up of humans. But that’s different.

The moment we try to talk to a crowd is the moment we stop talking to humans on a personal level.

So don’t. Talk to someone – any one – but just one. Pick a person in the crowd, and speak directly to that person.

I’ve used this in my writing for a while (though I still often forget). I write for one person even if it’s a blog post that more than one person will read. I’m not so good with the speaking side of this, but I’m working on it.

Yes, focusing on one person means leaving out most of the crowd. That’s okay. That’s what you want. By leaving out the crowd, you let the people in.

Remember this next time you’re trying to talk or write or communicate in any way to a crowd. Remember crowds are made of people, and we communicate with the people, not the crowds.

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