What are 3 keys to successful communication? With Brenden Kumarasamy

Hello and welcome to this episode of The Unnoticed Entrepreneur. Today we're going to Montreal in Canada. We're going to talk to Brendan Kumurasami, who hopefully will tell me if I pronounced his surname correctly. Done okay. Brendan is the host of a very successful YouTube channel called MasterTalk, over 30,000 subscribers. But he's really a communications expert and trainer and has been doing that since the age of 19, where he helped fellow students to get better and to compete in competitions. So he's going to tell us some of the tools and tips that we can use as unnoticed entrepreneurs to communicate better. He has a bit of a cold today, so I hope he's doing okay. Brendan, how are you getting on?

Life is great, Jim. How about yourself?

Good. Well, thanks for joining us. I know you're not feeling 100%, so thank you. Just tell us, first of all, a little bit about MasterTalk and how do you help entrepreneurs to get noticed through their communication? And that's 8, 9 years ago, I think, Brendan. So you've really managed to keep the consistency up. Do you want to maybe tell us to start with some of the tips that you've been sharing that are so successful? And then we're going to move on to how you've built the business around your skill set. So first of all, for those of us that are not expert at presentations and communications, Can you give us some guides?

Absolutely, Jim. And in the context of this show about brand, I'll also break down the 3 brand pillars of MasterTalk, which are very simple: simplicity, practicality, and generosity. So what I really brought to the space was the tips weren't simple enough because a lot of communication experts are PhDs in the subject. So because of that, whenever they talk, nobody understands what they're saying. The second piece is practicality. What am I actually taking away? You know, a lot of the communication experts, they sound really smart. When they're on podcasts, they talk about the statistical dataset of where the fear of communication comes from, of how bad the fear is after death, but there's not really any tangible solutions on how to get better. And the third piece is generosity. For me, my philosophy is always like you asked me before the show started, hey, like what's off limits? It's like, just ask me anything. And that's really the openness that I really want to serve the world with. So given that frame, how do we then master communication, Jim? Communication is like juggling 18 balls at the same time. One of those balls is body language. One of those balls is facial expressions. One of those balls is storytelling. And it gets really confusing really fast. So for me, the mindset has been, what are the 3 easiest balls to juggle? I'll give you the first one. And if you want me to talk about the other 2, happy to. So the first ball is the random word exercise. Pick a random word like eyeball, like home, like ceiling, and create random presentations out of thin air. This serves 2 main purposes. One, it helps you think on your feet. And number 2 is if you can make sense out of nonsense, you could make sense out of anything.

I love that idea of doing random. So this is the sort of coaching where you're getting people to practice juggling so then they could switch the balls later. And the balls, I guess, being a metaphor for the messages themselves, Brendon. Is that right?

Absolutely. So for me, the philosophy has been going back to simplicity, practicality, generosity is let's say we want to get better at weight loss. We want to lose some weight, which probably wouldn't be the case for us, Jim. But let's say we did. What would you do? Very simple. We already know the answer. It's, hey, drink less soft drinks. Stay away from chocolates. No more junk food. No more desserts. If you do that for 2, 3 weeks and you exercise enough, you'll probably lose a pound or 2. But when you look at that scale and you see the number going down, something much more important happens than the lost pounds. There's an increased momentum. You go, wow, I can actually do this. If I actually stay consistent, I'll lose 20 pounds. But that type of simplicity and quickness of results didn't really exist in communication before me. I've always found. So for me, it's more about saying, don't worry about what the random word exercise looks like, feels like. Don't worry about whether you're doing it well. Just do it a lot. And if you do it 5 minutes a day for 3 weeks, You'll be drastically better at doing the exercise than when you started.

Brendon, I love that. And having come from a background where I've done media training in the past, one of the drivers for that has been corporate communications guidelines, right? So companies will produce a booklet for the executive to memorize before they go in front of the media. How do you reconcile where a company has all this sort of guidelines, especially maybe if it's litigious, maybe there's a legal dimension to it. How do you help them to reconcile this kind of big body of corporate work they're given with simplicity, practicality, and generosity? Because they almost seem like at odds with one another, Brendan. How do you help them overcome that problem?

Yeah, that's a great conundrum that you presented. So here's the way that I think about it. The skill set is different when we start a podcast versus when we want to be the best podcaster in the world. Right? The frame is different. So let's say when somebody's starting a podcast, let's say your show, it's not about saying, hey, you need to buy this mic, you're going to need to have this dialogue, you need to hire this production team, you're going to get everything right. At the beginning, it's just, hey, did you press record? You can start it on your iPhone, it doesn't matter. You just got to start because the focus is 0 to 1. What you're really commenting on, Jim, is how to go from 1 to 100, which is now it's okay, I've done all the work. I'm very nimble with my communication, which I refer to as communication agility. Now I'm able to navigate to the specific context that I'm speaking to. And you gave a very specific context that I don't think really applies to, let's say, 95% of people who are listening. That's really if you're like already a VP, SVP, C-suite, which is a small percentage of the population, and you're presenting something that is high stakes. So even that is even rarer because usually when VPs have to present, it's not always high stakes. It's your scenario really applies to, let's say, publicly traded CEOs. So that's the way I would think about it. For most of us listening to this podcast, it's about doing the foundations, random word exercise, sending video messages to people that we love for 20 seconds, asking each other a question every single day and answering it about our expertise. I call this the question drill. Do that once a day for 5 minutes for a year. You'll have answered 365 questions, but it's about working on the fundamentals.

Okay, you're absolutely right. So forgive me for introducing some sort of corporate background there that I have lurking in my pre-podcast days. But Brenda, I love that, and you've articulated wonderfully a number of, if you like, tools or activities that people can use in their everyday that are not raising any fear for people, right? So just take us through that. You've managed to make your MasterTalk program very accessible. To people. As an entrepreneur, I'd love to hear how you've managed to do that. Well, you mentioned about just sort of doing one at a time, but there's more to it than that, I'm sure, to build a channel as successful as yours has become. Do you want to just take us through that?

Very kind of you. I don't think I'm successful by any means, Jim. I have a lot more to go, but I appreciate it. Yeah, let me paint the picture, right? I'm a 22-year-old kid. I'm broke. I have a crooked left arm. I presented my whole life in a second language because in Montreal, you need to know how to speak French. To be successful, and I didn't know it. So because of that, I struggled most of my life in communication. And you would think that a communication expert studied in comms. I got a bachelor's degree in accounting. So the reason I paint that picture, Jim, is because I was as lost as the next person. Anyone listening to this can do what I'm about to explain. So how I built the channel was I followed a three-step process that I can articulate pretty well now, but at the time I wasn't really. Doing that, which is called QIT, especially if you're an educational thought leader. This doesn't really apply if you're trying to make pranks, but if you're trying to build expertise and share knowledge like me or you, this works really well. Q is just questions. So I'll tell you a story. Story is I got my sweatpants on. I have this idea for Masterdoc. Somebody else came up with the name. They said, call it Masterdoc. I was like, cool, it's not trademarked. And I sit down with a bunch of my buddies. I don't have any clients. I've coached 60 of these students and I sit down with the people. That I actually want to watch my videos? Because I wasn't thinking about creating this for millions of people. I just wanted my Case Competition Pro, that very niche group of people to watch my content every week because I didn't have time to coach them anymore. That was the main reason I started MasterTalk. And then it evolved into kind of what it is today. So I just asked them, I said, hey guys, like really informally, what's up dudes? Can you just give me questions? Like what questions do you have on communication? I want to start this YouTube channel, but I don't know what to talk about. And I just sat there and I listened to all their ideas and I took notes. That's Q. So one person would say, hey, Brendon, how do you present in a second language? I go, oh, that's brilliant. No one made a video on that. Then somebody said, hey, Brendon, can you do a speaker breakdown of like Brené Brown or Gary Vee and give your point of view? And I'm thinking, why didn't I think of this? This is so smart. And then somebody else said, hey, why don't you give me like some exercise that I can do every day? Communication's so vague. I don't understand any of the other videos. So I start writing all that. That's Q. I is, while I was working my corporate job, my prior life, I was a technology consultant at IBM. And what I would do is in the middle of the day, Jim, I would pick 45 minutes after lunch while I was working. And I would only answer one of the questions and write a 700-word blog to a 1,000-word blog on what the perfect answer to that question would be at the time that I was. And then the last piece is just T, which is I would title the video based on the initial question. So the title on YouTube becomes How to Present in a Second Language. So anyone with that question would see that video as the solution to their problems.

Love that. And sorry, what did I stand? You said it was writing an article, but that would be an A. So what was I? Yeah, you're right.

I just stands for insights.

Insights. Okay, perfect. That's if you like your formulation of the response to the questions. And there's that book I think about, They Ask, You Answer, which has been so successful as well. And so, Brendan, I love that this YouTube channel, in terms of frequency and cadence, have you got some structure to that? And in terms of duration, format, things that have worked for you, maybe you could share for those of us that are looking at YouTube and go, wow, how do you get those kind of followers?

Absolutely, Jim. And you probably won't like the answer. Here's the problem with a lot of us with personal brands and trying to build a foundation. And it's funny that the young guy is saying this to people, but at the end of the day, team, you should not be asking yourself what's hot, like what's sexy. Oh yeah, it's TikTok, LinkedIn, organic. There's nothing wrong with these platforms. We're posting on them too. But what you need to ask yourself, Jim, and everyone else listening is what do you want your personal brand to look like in a decade? Because most people cannot create content consistently for 10 years, like at all. Like if you just outlast your competition in any niche, you will win. Seth Godin is the epitome example of that, right? He's written a blog every single day since the dawn of the internet and hasn't missed a day in what, 30 years? So that's why he has one of the— and obviously super talented, but that combined with the consistency of writing a blog every day for 30 years. Just made him invincible. So in that longevity, so that's been a key focus. So whenever I teach YouTube, I always start with the 5-20 rule. People go, "What's the 5-20 rule?" Very simple, Jim. Here was my strategy when I was 22 and I started the channel. I said, "You know what? If I post once a week, gold, like really good eight to nine minute video for the next ten years, I am guaranteed." to be successful on YouTube because 52 videos every year, once a week times 10 years is 520. And even if the algorithm wasn't going to give me any followers, I got lucky. The algo helped me a little bit, but I didn't rely on it. My focus was how do I just meet 1,000 people? If I have 1,000 conversations like this, and even if nobody else is listening to the podcast, I'm sure in this case they are, but let's, let's say they aren't. At least I would make a new friend in Jim and Jim would share my YouTube videos with 5 other people. And that's always been my mindset. People focus too much on the followers, not enough on the conversations.

Brendan, that's lovely. And I can see where your degree comes from because all of these have got mathematical formulas somewhere in the strategy. So you have a wonderful blend of the logical, practical, and the creative as well. Brendan, what do people do wrong? Why not share with us? Because it's great to talk about what people do right. But many of us can also learn from what people like yourself have seen that kind of really bombs.

Absolutely, Jim. Do you mean that in the context of communication or personal branding or both?

Yeah, I think they're both interesting and I think they're probably inextricable, aren't they really? I mean, you build a brand through communicating through conversations one-on-one or at scale. So why don't we start with what goes wrong when it comes to personal branding, Brendan? Why don't we start with that?

Yeah, absolutely, Jim. For me, I would say the biggest mistake that people make by far is they don't focus on quantity. First, I know Gary Vee talks a lot about this, but he skips it over really fast where he says quantity, then quality. What he means by that is riding a bike. You don't really learn how to ride a 2-wheeler right away. You start with training wheels, you ride a couple of times, and then you build up the confidence to ride 2. You don't just sit there at home and say, well, I don't want to ride my 4-wheeler bike, I don't want to give this a shot. But we bring that attitude into content creation. Right? That's why I paint the picture of who I used to be. Remember, kid in my mother's basement. I didn't have any editing, no money for production. I literally took a phone every week and I just said, let me make a video. And all those videos are still up there and they're garbage. They're terrible. So for me, the first year of content creation, because remember, we're playing a 10-year game here. That's really the game for this. So my first year of my content creation journey, I just write it off. I don't even think about it. It's more just about building the muscle, getting really good at it. Like when we're babies and we're learning how to walk, do we fall down and say, well, I guess I shouldn't get back up? No, you just keep getting back up until you figure it out. And that's really the key. That's one piece that I think is the big mistake. Most people are just not willing to go to the quantity to figure out the quality. That's one. Another big mistake I see with personal brands as well is they don't talk to their audience enough. I am meticulous about this. I actually push this much further than Gary Vee does because his audience is too big at this point where like I don't just answer questions when people send me DMs. I send them voice notes. It really blows people's minds because that's what people really miss. If you have 1,000 true fans like Kevin Kelly talks about, you have 1,000 people absolutely adore you. They'll share your videos with 50 to 100 people. And that's really how MasterTalk scaled. It's building these relationships at sketches. Most people aren't willing to do the legwork and put in the time to really nurture those relationships with their fans.

Those are both brilliant, brilliant. In terms of communications, you've talked about simplicity, generosity, practicality. Are the main flaws in people's communications, if you like, one-on-one, The inverse of those are people being too complicated. They're not being consistent. Brendon, from a communications point of view, what do you see and go, put your head in your hand and go, oh my God, how do I help that person?

For sure, Jim. So of course, a lot of those principles still apply, which is, hey, like, you need to talk to your audience if you need to figure out how to make the message better. Like, for example, one easy one with me. So remember how I always talk about the random word exercise, the question drill, and the video message? There's a strategic reason why I've chosen these 3, because in the past I actually picked 3 completely different exercises except the random word exercise. So I would say something like the forced silence drill, which is a great strategy where you essentially stand in front of someone and point at them with the finger. So whenever you point at them, they have to pause. So it forces them to get rid of their filler words, their ums and ahs. But the more interesting question is, why don't I bring it up anymore on podcasts? Not because I'm hiding information, it's all on the YouTube channel. Because it's harder to implement. Oh, I need to find somebody and then start pointing at them. I don't want to do it. I don't want to practice this. So that's why I intentionally picked 3 exercises that are a joke. You can literally do this alone in your basement. Video message, take out your phone, send a video message. Question drill, make a list of questions, write them out. And the random word exercise.

Brandon, that's great. Yeah, I had a guest on the other day who talked about using voice notes in LinkedIn. And getting amazing response. Now, people, as we get more and more distance from each other, looking for that connectivity. Brendan, if you want to get connected to you, mastertalk.com is, I guess, your website. Is that right?

Close. So it's rockstarcommunicator.com.

Okay. So Brendan, why don't you tell us how can people get in touch with you? Brendan, and I'm going to do this one more time, Kumara Sami.

You're the first host who have attempted successfully my last name twice on a show. Usually people do it once and they let it go. But yeah, I love that. So 2 ways to keep in touch, Jim. Thanks for having me on the show. The first one is the YouTube channel. Just type Mastertalk in one word and you'll have access to hundreds of free videos on how to communicate ideas effectively. That's one. And the second way is to attend one of our free communication workshops over Zoom. We do one every 2 weeks. I facilitate the call and it's absolutely free. And that's rockstarcommunicator.com.

Brendan, thank you so much for joining me. You've been a real rock star. In just 20 minutes, you've packed in so much. So thank you so much. It shows how much you know and how focused you are. So really appreciate you sharing those with us.

Thank you so much.

So you've been listening to Brendan Kumara Sami. I think I'm getting better third time. I've got the thumbs up from Brendan. And me, Jim James, here in the UK. And if you've enjoyed the show, which I'm sure you have because it's enlightened me, please do share it with a fellow unnoticed entrepreneur. We're on a mission really to help all entrepreneurs to learn from one another how to get noticed. And until we meet again, I just encourage you to keep on communicating.