Hiya you!

Business communication has a blind spot.

It's you.

You're not as objective as you think you are. (Neither am I 🤷‍♀️)

That approach you've been clinging to?

It might not be the best version.

You think it's working because it feels familiar. Safe. Tried and true.

It's not a flaw. It's how our brains work.

We all develop blind spots, especially around the ideas we've held onto the longest.

Your perspective is shaped by everything you've already decided to believe.

And those beliefs might be quietly sabotaging your project pitches or business deals.

Here's how it happens:

→ You seek out evidence that supports what you already believe, while ignoring what doesn't. (Confirmation Bias)

→ You stick to familiar messages because they feel safer, even when they're outdated or ineffective. (Status Quo Bias)

→ Your brain clings to the first piece of information it receives, often making you resistant to change or new ideas. (Anchoring Bias)

These cognitive traps distort how you perceive your own message.

They make you overestimate how clearly you're communicating, assume others share your context and knowledge, and filter feedback through the same biases.

In other words, you're reinforcing your own assumptions. (Yep. That stings a little. But keep going.)

When we're stuck in an echo chamber, we only hear what we want to hear.

We are all guilty of this. In fact, it has a lot to do with how society is becoming more polarized—more extremes, fewer centrists.

The longer you stay unaware of these invisible influences...

The more likely you are to double down on a message that feels right to you—but falls flat for everyone else.

The psychology is clear: we're wired to seek cognitive consistency.

It's not just stubbornness. It's survival.

But it's also the biggest barrier to clear, effective communication—and connection.

The Bias Proof Process

If you want to escape the echo chamber, you need to actively disrupt your cognitive biases (and yes, it actually pays off).

McKinsey found that organizations that actively worked to reduce biases in their decision-making processes achieved returns up to seven percentage points higher. (McKinsey Quarterly, The Case for Behavioral Strategy)

Here are 5 steps to eliminate cognitive biases from your communication:

Step 1: Break Your Own Patterns

Start by accepting the uncomfortable truth: You have biases. And so does everyone else.

→ Challenge Your Own Thinking: Write down your most important point. Now, argue against it. Hard. What’s the strongest counter-argument? What’s the most compelling evidence against your point?

Ask:

→“If I was trying to prove myself wrong, what evidence would I look for?”

If you find this difficult, you might be more dug-in than you even realize.

Research shows that cognitive dissonance (the discomfort of holding conflicting ideas) forces your brain to reconsider previously held beliefs.

Step 2: Create a Devil’s Advocate Role

Bias thrives in comfort. You need friction.

Encourage someone—maybe it’s you, maybe it’s that contrarian colleague who always pushes back, maybe it’s ChatGPT—to consistently question assumptions. Deliberately seeking out dissent forces you to confront blind spots you’d otherwise ignore.

Groupthink and confirmation bias are amplified in environments where everyone agrees. Deliberate disagreement exposes flaws, limitations, and gaps in your thinking.

→ Assign a Devil’s Advocate: This role is dedicated to questioning assumptions and presenting counter-arguments.

→ “What if we’re dead wrong? Where’s the evidence?”

For high-stakes decisions, designate someone whose sole purpose is to find flaws in the reasoning.

Step 3: Slow Down Key Decisions

Quick decisions feel efficient, but they’re also where cognitive biases run wild.

Introducing a “cooling-off” period forces your brain to reconsider its initial conclusions, allowing deeper reflection and the integration of new information.

→ Create Deliberate Pauses: Before finalizing any major decision, schedule a mandatory “wait and reconsider” period.

→ “If I had to explain this decision a week from now, would I still stand by it?”

Avoid snap judgments, especially for big moves—pivots, investments, strategic decisions—slow down and reflect.

Step 4: Create Systematic Decision Tools

Bias loves to hijack intuition because it feels effortless and instant. But that effortlessness is where your brain starts cutting corners.

If you want to outsmart your own biases, you need to introduce structure through proven tools and frameworks. This means turning your messy thought process into something deliberate and repeatable.

Build Your Toolkit:

• Decision frameworks for consistent evaluation
• Structured checklists to prevent shortcuts.
• Analysis matrices to compare options objectively
• Scoring rubrics to standardize criteria

The key is having a system that forces you to evaluate decisions through the same rigorous lens every time. If you can't explain why an idea meets your established criteria, it's probably your bias talking.

Step 5: Build a Bias-Resistant Process

Biases don’t disappear. They adapt. So should you.

→ Create a Feedback Loop: Regularly revisit your points. Test them with new people. Identify where your communication breaks down and refine accordingly.

→ “What did I assume my audience understood that they clearly didn’t?”

• Include metrics or KPIs to track communication effectiveness
• Set up regular review cycles with diverse stakeholders
• Document lessons learned from each major presentation or pitch
• Create a system to incorporate audience feedback into future iterations

Apply this to your biggest challenges: Investor pitches, strategic presentations, and internal alignment. Refine constantly.

Neuroplasticity (the brain’s ability to rewire itself) relies on continuous feedback and refinement. Without it, your biases will keep you stuck.

🎯 The B.A.S.E. Worksheet: Bias-Proof Your Message Before It Hits the Room

Use this 4-question self-check before any high-stakes communication.

Keep this worksheet handy for future use.  ↓

✴︎ Pro Tip:

Use this worksheet as a pre-flight checklist before:

• Pitching a new idea to stakeholders
• Crafting investor or customer-facing messages
• Reworking an underperforming presentation
• Finalizing a campaign message or narrative

🤖 Bonus GPT Prompt: Find the Bias

Feeling stuck in your own echo chamber? Use this prompt to get a fresh perspective.

Paste this into ChatGPT:

“I want you to help me identify potential biases in my communication and suggest improvements. Here’s how I want you to approach it:

1. Break down my points into core arguments.
2. For each argument, do the following:
   • Identify assumptions I might be making about the audience’s knowledge, priorities, or preferences.
   • Highlight areas where I may be presenting only supporting evidence without acknowledging alternative perspectives.
   • Suggest alternative explanations or perspectives that could challenge my original point.
3. Evaluate how effectively my communication addresses a diverse audience’s needs, concerns, or motivations.
4. Suggest specific changes to improve clarity, balance, and audience relevance.

Here’s my message: [Insert your message here]”

🔄 Your Turn

What’s one belief you've been clinging to that might be clouding your message?

Are you willing to challenge it—or at least poke it to see if it still holds up?

‍