Finding the Core of Your Message: The one thing I learned that you need to hear
- Meridith Grundei
- Sep 1
- 2 min read
The one thing I learned that I need you to understand is this: if you want to find the core of your message, you have to be willing to let things go.
When I was making theater, I didn’t just write scripts and hand them to actors. I was part of something called devised theater, a process where the script doesn’t exist at the start.
Instead, you gather the creative team in a room and say, “Let’s build it together.”
We’d try scenes. We’d improvise. We’d bring in images, songs, and moments that felt alive. We’d say yes, and… to nearly everything in the beginning.
The rule? Nothing is too weird or too raw to put on the table.
But here’s the other rule, maybe the harder one: we couldn’t get precious about anything.
If it wasn’t serving the audience, if it wasn’t serving the story, if it didn’t move the piece forward, it had to go. No matter how much we loved it.
This is how you find the core of a performance:
Put everything in the room (ideas, stories, frameworks, metaphors).
Test it. Does it land? Does it connect?
Cut what’s not serving the message, even if it’s your favorite part.
This isn’t just theater. It’s business.
We all start with too much. Too many offers, too many talking points, too many messages we think we have to include.
But just like in devised theater, the audience — your clients, customers, or readers — doesn’t need everything you’ve got. They need the right things, in the right order, with the right emotional weight.
If you cling to every single idea you’ve ever had, you’ll end up with a cluttered performance. Or a cluttered brand. Or a cluttered keynote.
Let go of the things that aren’t serving the narrative.
Let go of the things that aren’t serving your audience.
Let go of the things that are interesting to you but distracting to them.
Because when you strip it down, what’s left isn’t “less.”
It’s more powerful. More intentional. More unforgettable.
So, whether you’re creating a keynote, a book, or a business strategy, think like a devised theater artist. Yes, and… everything at the start.
Then cut until what’s left hits the heart.
That’s where your real message lives.
