Hi Reader

I missed you last week - I was prepping for a panel I was hosting at Wolverhampton’s International Women’s Day (IWD) Conference and I’m deep in my website rebuild.

But I’m back with something I’ve been thinking about: word of mouth.

Specifically: why AI is impacting our relay-ability.

THE RELAY EFFECT

Last week, my client Emma Thompson, Director at Get Smart Accountants, spoke at the conference.

Last November, Emma came to me saying: “I did something slightly bonkers. I applied to give a talk… but I didn’t actually think I’d be accepted!”

We worked on turning “rambling thoughts” into a clear structure. We focused on slide psychology - how visuals supported the message without distracting from it. And practiced.

On the day, there were tech hiccups. The previous speaker overran so her time got cut. But Emma stayed calm. She adapted and delivered. She was fantastic.

Afterwards, the audience response was “overwhelming.” Multiple people said they related to her story. She got asked to do a radio interview. New business conversations started.

Her attitude shifted from “what on earth have I done?!” to “When’s the next one?”

I can tell you Emma’s story in a few sentences. You could probably retell it to someone else right now.

Why? Because it has:

• A specific problem in her words (“slightly bonkers”, “didn’t think I’d be accepted”, “rambling thoughts”)
• A clear process (framework, slide psychology, practice)
• Concrete results (radio interview, overwhelming response, mindset shift)

That’s what makes a story relay-able.

THE AI PROBLEM

I’m rebuilding my website right now. Working with Claude to edit my copy and ChatGPT to build the pages step-by-step.

And I keep having to push back.

There’s a section about my TEDx talk and my fight with cancer. I wrote: “It was about my biggest challenge yet.”

Claude wanted to change it to “biggest challenge.”

More complete. Better grammar. Tidier.

But that’s not true. “Yet” matters.

I don’t know what’s coming. Life isn't neat and there will be more challenges. That’s what being human is all about.

AI wants to smooth over the “yet.” Make things complete. Polished. Final. Predictable.

But the rough edges - the “yets” - the unpredictability - that’s what makes us human. And relay-able.

THREE THINGS THAT MAKE YOU RELAY-ABLE

If you want people to recommend you - to relay you forward - you need:

1. Be known for something specific

Not “I help professionals communicate better.”

That’s fine but a bit bland. Too smooth.

“I help people turn rambling thoughts into clear presentations” - that’s Emma’s description of our work. Relay-able.

2. Be clear about the problem + who

“Communication challenges” - too smooth.

“You applied for a talk not thinking you’d get in and now you’re terrified” - relay-able.

3. Have stories that stick

Not: “My clients improve their confidence”

But: “Emma went from ‘what have I done?!’ to ‘when’s the next one?’ in a matter of weeks”

The rough edges stick. The smooth slides off.

WHAT ARE YOU SMOOTHING OVER?

When someone asks “What do you do?”, what do you say?

If it’s smooth, polished, complete - it might blend into the background.

But if it has edges:

• The “yet”
• The “slightly bonkers”
• The unexpected moment
• The real transformation

That’s what people remember. That’s what they relay forward.

AI can help you find clarity. But it will smooth your edges.

Your job is to push back. Keep the “yet.”

Because incomplete is human. And human is relay-able.

So Reader: What are you smoothing over? What edges should you keep?

Best, Charlotte

P.S. This is exactly what we work on in Conference Prep VIP sessions - finding the rough edges in your story that make you memorable, not the smooth polish that makes you forgettable. April bookings open. Hit reply.

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NEXT THURSDAY: ISSUE #12 - The Invisible Advantage

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PROMPT TO TRY THIS WEEK: THE ROUGH EDGE TEST

Take your About page, LinkedIn headline, or elevator pitch.

Ask AI (ChatGPT or Claude):

“What would you change to make this more polished and professional?”

Then look at what it suggests removing or smoothing.

Those rough edges? The “yets,” the “slightly bonkers,” the incomplete moments?

Those are probably what makes you relay-able.

Don’t smooth them all away.

Why this works:

AI’s “improvements” often remove exactly what makes you memorable. Use its suggestions to identify your rough edges - then decide which ones to keep.

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HOW THE COVER WAS CREATED

In December last year I spent a day in London. My meetings were cancelled so I decided to make the most of the trip by exploring.

I’ve been to London many times, but never to the Barbican. I wanted to see the iconic brutalist architecture in person (and see where they film Apple TV’s Slow Horses close by.)

I took loads of photos, with a CharLatte cover in mind.

Later, I uploaded the photos with my idea - a chain of people/androids passing on ‘something’ as a relay (in one version it looked like a giant paracetamol, before settling on light) at the Barbican.

When people say AI is killing creativity, I would push back. It might in some ways, but it can also channel it in other ways.