Bring the Sizzle

Friday Reflection (No.25)

DJ Khaled is arguably the greatest hype man that ever-lived.¹ He’s made dozens of hits and pretty much all he does is say things like: “We the best”…“I get ‘em up” …”Another one” and of course, he says his own name, “DJ Khaled!”

Haters critique him by saying that he actually doesn’t do anything. But what they miss is that his infectious positive energy and meme-generating lines contribute to hit after hit, and without them the songs may never have even made the charts.

In other words, DJ Khaled is all about the sizzle.

There are two American idioms that use similar imagery, but seem to have conflicting meanings:

One: “All sizzle, no steak”

Two: “Sell the sizzle, not the steak”

So which one is right?

Actually both.

Your product or content can’t just be all hype (sizzle), but even if you have the best product or content, you need to be able to inject some “DJ Khaled” to get people to engage with it.

I often find that people gravitate towards one side or the other - valuing steak over sizzle or sizzle over steak. I can at times undervalue the impact of “sizzle” and it can be to my detriment.

For example, I am co-leading a team that is working on some exciting research. The first time we shared a draft with two colleagues, the response was positive but somewhat lukewarm (Great work…really interesting). After adding in compelling stories and using more emotionally resonant language, the same two colleagues responded to the second draft with unmitigated enthusiasm (Looks brilliant!…Fantastic piece!). The actual data and insights were the same, yet the way it was packaged had so much more DJ Khaled-esque sizzle that the resulting reaction was completely different.

For some of us that undervalue the “sizzle,” it can be driven by the fact that it feels uncomfortable. We suffer from what a friend recently labeled as “destructive humility.” In our desire to not be self-promotional, we sell ourselves, our team and our organization short.

Other times, we leave off the sizzle, because it is hard and takes some of us more mental effort.

So, for those of us who are either uncomfortable with self-promotion, can be a bit skeptical of the value of “sizzle,” or just find it hard, below are a few specific actions we can take to more consistently apply the “sizzle” to our steak:

1. Exude positive relational energy - recent research demonstrates that positive relational energy is an “underutilized yet powerful predictor of leadership and organizational success.” The researchers describe positive relational energy as the energy exchanged between people that helps uplift, enthuse, and renew them. Some of the specific actions that you can adapt to infuse positive relational energy are compassion, kindness, trust, generosity, gratitude, and recognition.

2. Use emotionally resonant language tailored to the audience. Paula Moya², a professor at Stanford who studies the art of narrative emphasizes the importance of thinking about the “images your words may conjure.” Consider the difference between the two phrases: “results focused” and “heat-seeking missile for results.” Moya also emphasizes thinking deeply about how your words may be interpreted by different audiences. For example, as the founder of a technology company you want to be able to articulate distinct narratives for customers, investors and employees.

3. Embrace storytelling. Storytelling is in our DNA, yet so often we overly rely on data and bullet points to relay a message. Neuroscience research also emphasizes how stories engage multiple parts of our brains, bringing more focus and attention to a topic and making it more likely that we remember it. Consider this quote from Yuval Noah Harari:

   “Homo sapiens is a storytelling animal that thinks in stories rather than in numbers or graphs, and believes that the universe itself works like a story, replete with heroes and villains, conflicts and resolutions, climaxes and happy endings.”

We can’t all be DJ Khaled, but we can all bring the sizzle.

Some questions I reflected on this week:

1. What holds me back from consistently injecting “sizzle” into my work?

2. What is one “sizzle” action from the list above that I can work on this week?

3. How can I guide members of my team to invest more in the “sizzle” so that their work can be more compelling?

1. My top 5 ranking of top DJ Khaled songs goes: 1. Higher with Nipsey Hussle and John Legend; 2. I’m on One with Drake and Lil Wayne, 3. All I Do is Win with T-Pain, Ludacris, Snoop Dogg and Rick Ross; 4. Wild Thoughts with Rihanna; 5. Grammy Family with Kanye, Consequence and John Legend

2. Here’s a great recent podcast that Paula Moya was on: https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights/telling-good-stories-how-use-elements-narrative-keep-listeners-engaged