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I was at the gym last week, staring at two pieces of equipment.
One of the trainers walked by, so I asked, “Which one’s better for what I’m trying to do?”
She asked what I was trying to do.
I opened my mouth and realized I didn’t actually know.
I had a vague sense. Something about mobility. Maybe stability. I’d seen someone use one of them in a video once. It looked useful. Beyond that, fog.
So she asked a few follow-ups.
What’s the goal? Strength, rehab, flexibility?
What problem are you trying to solve?
What have you tried that isn’t working?
I stumbled through half-answers. “I guess I want to… improve my overall movement quality?”
She smiled. Patient, not condescending.
“Let me show you both. Use them for a week. Then tell me what you notice.”
I walked away slightly embarrassed.
Not because I didn’t know which equipment was better.
But because I realized I didn’t know what I actually thought about my own training.
I had preferences. Impressions. Ideas I’d absorbed from things I’d read.
But when someone asked me directly what I was trying to do, and why, I couldn’t articulate it.
And if I can’t articulate what I think, how can I make a good decision?
How can I evaluate advice?
How can I tell whether something is working?
Clarity is the most courteous of all courtesies, and the most useful
That moment at the gym reminded me of something about influence.
You can’t be compelling about something you’re unclear on.
And most of us are unclear on more than we realize.
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The Uncomfortable Truth
We all carry positions we’ve never examined.
Opinions we’ve absorbed but never stress-tested. Preferences we’d struggle to defend if anyone pushed back.
This isn’t a flaw. It’s the default.
We’re busy. We take in ideas quickly. We move on.
So we end up with a head full of half-formed thoughts masquerading as positions.
Then we wonder why our ideas don’t land.
Why people hesitate.
Why our influence feels capped.
The problem usually isn’t communication.
It’s clarity.
Unclear thinking produces unclear communication.
And unclear communication doesn’t move anyone.
How to Know What You Actually Think
Having a position isn’t about confidence.
It’s about doing the work to know what you actually think.
Here’s the process I use when a position feels fuzzy but important.
Gif by buzzfeed on Giphy
Let’s get it…
Step 1: Say it in one sentence
If you can’t say it in one sentence, you don’t have a position.
You have a mood.
Not: “I think there’s something to working with constraints because I’ve read that limitations can spark creativity, although too many constraints are bad, so it depends…”
But: “Constraints improve creative output more often than unlimited freedom.”
One sentence forces you to choose.
Step 2: Ask why until it hurts
Don’t stop at the first answer. Push deeper.
Why do you believe this?
Because you read it? Experienced it? Want it to be true?
Keep going until you hit something solid:
an experience, a value, or a principle you actually stand on.
If you never hit bedrock, the belief isn’t yours yet.
Step 3: Make the strongest case against yourself
If you can’t argue the other side well, you don’t understand the issue.
What would a smart skeptic say?
Where might they be right?
This isn’t about switching sides.
It’s about earning your position.
Step 4: Name the conditions
Most ideas aren’t always true. They’re true when something is true.
When do constraints help creativity?
When do they choke it?
“Constraints help when the goal is clear” is stronger than “constraints help.”
Specificity signals real thinking.
Step 5: Say it out loud
Pressure-test it with someone who will push back.
If it collapses under basic questions, good.
It needed to.
If it holds or sharpens, you didn’t just form an opinion.
You earned one.
Why This Matters for Influence
Let me be direct about the stakes.
Influence requires conviction.
Not arrogance. Not rigidity.
Clarity.
People can feel the difference between someone who knows their own mind and someone improvising.
Clear thinkers:
State positions directly
Explain their reasoning under pressure
Hold their view while staying open to better arguments
Unclear thinkers hedge, wobble, and leave people guessing.
Clarity is persuasive because it’s useful.
People trust thinking that’s actually going somewhere.
Which one would you rather follow?
You can't be compelling about something you're unclear on, and most of us are unclear on more than we realize
LEVEL UP
AI Prompt: Do I Actually Think This?
Copy, paste, and use this in your favorite LLM to pressure-test a position before you share it publicly or use it to influence a decision.
Copy, paste, and use this to pressure-test a position before you share it publicly or use it to influence a decision.
My position (one sentence):[Insert sentence]
Help me evaluate it by walking through this:
1. Is this truly one clear claim, or multiple ideas blended together? If unclear, rewrite it into a single precise sentence.
2. Why do I believe this? Identify the experiences, values, or assumptions behind it. Flag any weak or borrowed reasoning.
3. Make the strongest case against this position. Where could a smart skeptic be right?
4. Under what conditions is this position likely true, and under what conditions would it fail or reverse?
5. Pressure-test it. What questions would expose weak thinking if this were challenged in a meeting or by a prospect?
End by telling me:
- Whether this position is well-formed or still fuzzy
- How to strengthen it without adding complexity
- One sentence I can confidently say out loudPOLL
How often do you examine why you hold a position before sharing it?
CURATED ROUNDUP
What to Review This Week
Read: Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know by Adam Grant
Watch: The Scout Mindset: Why Some People See Things Clearly and Others Don't
In Case You Missed It!
The Bottom Line
Most people don’t know their position until they’re challenged.
They have impressions, not examined views.
Opinions that crumble under the first real question.
You can’t be compelling about something you’re unclear on.
The foundation of influence isn’t charisma or technique.
It’s clarity.
Do the work before the moment arrives.
The person who has done that work speaks differently.
And people listen differently when they do.
Thanks for reading. Be easy!
Girvin
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