​The Dinner Party Mistake Most People Make on LinkedIn

​One of the biggest mistakes people make on LinkedIn is writing as if they're having a conversation at a dinner party. At a dinner party, people have chosen to be there. They're sitting down, relaxed, and ready to listen. They expect conversation and are willing to give you their attention.

LinkedIn is different.
LinkedIn is more like a busy city street.

People are scrolling between meetings, answering emails, waiting for a Zoom call to start, or standing in line for coffee. They are moving quickly and making split-second decisions about what deserves their attention.

Your post isn't competing with the people at the dinner table. It's competing with everything else happening in their day.

That's why many LinkedIn posts struggle to gain traction. They start too slowly, provide too much background, or bury the main point several paragraphs down. If you want people to stop scrolling, you need to give them a reason immediately.

Instead of opening with:
"I was recently thinking about an experience I had several years ago that reminded me of something important about leadership..."
Try:
"Most leaders are solving the wrong problem."

Which statement makes you want to keep reading?

The goal is to earn attention by leading with an idea, insight, question, or observation that matters to your audience.
​
Here are a few ways to make your LinkedIn posts more effective:
Start with a strong hook
Give readers a reason to stop scrolling within the first one or two lines.
Get to the point quickly
Don't make readers work to find the lesson. Lead with it or get there fast.
Focus on one idea
The best LinkedIn posts are often built around a single insight, not five different topics.
Create curiosity
Share a surprising observation, challenge a common belief, or ask a thought-provoking question.
Deliver value
Once you've earned attention, reward it with a useful lesson, practical advice, or a meaningful story.

You're not speaking to an audience that is waiting to hear from you.
You're speaking to a busy audience.
Your job isn't to have a dinner-party conversation.
Your job is to say something interesting enough that a busy person walking down the street stops, turns around, and says:
"Tell me more."

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Kellie Emrich, DBA
Marketing and Business Professor 

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