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Last week I wrote about communication, specifically the responsibility of leaders to communicate the goals of the leader in the language of the learner.
That same afternoon, I found myself on a flight home from Virginia. Delta had Live TV running, and I stumbled into something unexpected: King Charles of England addressing a joint session of the United States Congress.
What a strange, rare gift in the middle of a workday to sit still for 30 uninterrupted minutes and just listen.
And I was struck.
How did this man, addressing a room filled with opposing parties, tension, and deeply divided perspectives, get people to smile and laugh and even stand at the same time?
Let’s be honest. This isn’t a knock, just reality. He’s not widely known as a captivating speaker. He’s not particularly magnetic in presence. He’s not overwhelmingly popular even in his own country, where many still hold deep affection for his mother and are already looking ahead to the next generation.
And yet the speech worked.
It connected and it unified, if only for a moment.
So continuing on the theme of communication, here are three things he did that any of us can apply in business, leadership, and everyday life.
1. He used humor, especially the kind that names the obvious
King Charles didn’t avoid the elephant in the room, he walked straight toward it.
Here he was, standing in front of American lawmakers during a celebration tied to the 250th anniversary of a moment when America declared independence from his country.
And he acknowledged it lightly, honestly, and with a bit of self-awareness.
That’s where the laughter came from.
Sometimes the most effective humor isn’t clever, it’s honest, simply naming what everyone in the room is already thinking but no one has said out loud.
Too many leaders take themselves too seriously, and that seriousness creates distance instead of connection.
Our team once pitched a high-profile CEO named John. We proposed a content series called From the John, yes, a little potty humor to humanize an otherwise very serious person. The idea got shut down.
Maybe it wasn’t a great idea, but the instinct behind it was right. People connect with leaders who feel approachable, not untouchable.
Humor, when used well, signals that you see what they see and that you are human too.
2. He highlighted shared values again and again
Throughout the speech, King Charles kept returning to common ground.
Shared history. Shared principles. Shared commitments.
He didn’t ignore differences, but he didn’t center them either.
When you remind people of what they have in common, you lower defenses and create a foundation to build on, shifting the conversation from me versus you to us.
And here’s the key, you can’t say it once and move on. You have to reinforce it because repetition is not redundancy, it is leadership.
People forget. People drift. People default to division.
Great communicators bring them back over and over again to what unites them.
In a team setting, that might be mission. In a company, it might be purpose. In a family, it might be values.
But if you don’t name it consistently, don’t expect people to remember it consistently.
3. He challenged people to a higher way
The speech wasn’t just warm and unifying, it had weight.
There were moments of challenge, moments that pointed forward, and moments that called people to something better.
From global responsibility to leadership in uncertain times, he didn’t just celebrate, he invited.
That’s what the best communicators do.
They don’t just make us feel good, they call us up.
They challenge us in a way that speaks to our highest and best, not our lowest and least, reminding us of who we can be rather than just reflecting who we are.
And importantly, that challenge didn’t feel heavy-handed. It felt aligned with the shared values he had already established.
Connection first, then challenge.
That order matters.
Most of us will never stand in front of Congress.
We won’t have the platform, the spotlight, or the history of a monarchy behind us, but we do have something just as important: moments.
A team meeting.
A client presentation.
A conversation with a colleague.
A Sunday school class.
These are our stages and our opportunities to communicate in a way that actually moves people, shifting thinking, building unity, and calling others forward.
So let’s take the lesson.
Use humor to connect.
Reinforce what’s shared.
Challenge people toward their best.
That’s how hearts change, how minds move, and how effective leadership actually works.
