This week, I posted this message on the Skool Community for community founders, it helps me get visibility on the platform and it sparkled a great response and so many cool conversations. I am pasting the post as it is (just added the GIFs to keep our tradition here 😁 )

Yesterday, I witnessed something really cool.
During an in-person roundtable discussion, I watched one of my community members, who happened to be there too, share his one-liner. The response from a participant was like watching someone find exactly what they were looking for - that instant recognition in their eyes.

I thought this could be useful for people iterating on their one-liner.

Your company’s (or personal) one-liner has an important job to do — in a world of million of businesses, many of which are likely delivering a similar service, zero attention span, your one-liner needs to both intrigue and inform, and do so in seconds.

When I first started building my community, I worked with these one-liner templates:

1. “I help [niche] with [desired outcome]” ex. I help engineer-founders with talking confidently about their business
2. “I help [niche] with [painful problem]” ex. I help entrepreneurial engineers with getting understood by non-technical people
3. “I help [niche] with [desired outcome] without [painful problem]” ex. I help tech founders with talking confidently about their business without sounding fake.

I’ve spent years refining how I think about these introductions, and I’d love to share what I’ve learned along the way (often the hard way!).

First, how I organize it in my mind:

• One-liner = The draft I keep practicing and refining
• Positioning Statement = I mention it when it is shared in public, it's what I actually use in real conversations

Through countless conversations, I’ve noticed three different types of responses:

🎯 Response #1: The Lean-In My favorite!

Someone immediately says “Tell me more” or “Can we talk after?”

I’ve learned this usually means I’ve struck gold - they’re likely facing the exact challenge I help solve.

🤝 Response #2: The Connector (+ Ambassador Effect!)

They say “I know exactly who you should talk to!” Here’s the fascinating part - when I describe the [painful problem] clearly, something magical happens. The person doesn’t just think of someone to refer; they’re naturally equipped to explain my value in their own words. Why? I’ve noticed humans naturally understand and remember problems better than outcomes. (I could be wrong here, it’s just my experience) With this I essentially turned my interlocutors into a human lead generation machine - they explain my value to others using the problem language that resonates most. Fresh, human-generated leads coming my way! 👣

At an event a couple of years ago, a lady asked me what I do, to which I said “I help engineer-founders get understood” I know it’s a poor earlier version of my positioning statement 😆 but … she replied “Oh god ! you need to talk to my husband, he is an engineer, running his business for 2 years now, and still no one, including me, really understands what he does”😂

👀 Response #3: The Silent Tell

I’ve learned to watch people’s eyes. They tell me instantly if I’m connecting or if I need to adjust my approach.

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Here’s what works for me:

When describing who I help, I make sure to talk about real people. I found that saying “startups” or “businesses” doesn’t click, our brain can’t have empathy with an abstract construct . I get better reactions with “startup founders under 30” or “business owners with technical backgrounds.”

At networking events where I don’t know who I’ll meet, I focus on the problem I help solve. I’ve found this increases my chances of:

• Making an immediate connection
• Getting introduced to someone who needs help
• Being remembered for future conversations

Quick tip: I’ve discovered that using the "I help [niche] with [painful problem]" version works better for me in networking situations. When people hear about a specific problem, they’re more likely to think “Oh, I know someone struggling with exactly that!”

I’m curious about your experiences - how do you describe what you do (your Skool community) to people outside of your work or industry?