Medbury 🍓 | Summer Volume 2

How to act like you been there before. Intuition vs anxiety. And why B2B SaaS brands should really work with us.

Before we jump in: We’re hiring for a freelancer role - details here. Happy Juneteenth. Happy Solstice. xo 🍓

What I'm Thinking About: The Charisma Formula

Medbury - collectively - thinks a lot about charisma. We think about likability online for our clients. Specifically, how it shows up in executive presence and personal brand content.

It’s a slippery quality that’s hard to define but easy to recognize. You know it when you see it. And in our work, we see the same tension come up again and again:

• Executives want to sound credible but not distancing.

• Less senior folks want to sound capable, but not like they’re trying too hard.

• Everyone wants to be taken seriously without losing their humanness.

There’s a Princeton study we reference often: researchers found that 82% of our perceived likability comes from warmth. Only 18% comes from competence.

While those are some pretty specific numbers, I don’t think of it as a hard-and-fast formula. It’s more like a dial you adjust depending on the context.

Too much competence, not enough warmth: people respect you but don’t feel comfortable around you.

Too much warmth, not enough competence: people like you, but don’t take you seriously.

And - water wet, sky blue - it’s gendered. Men often get more leeway to lead with competence. Women are expected to lead with approachability - but not too much warmth, or they risk being seen as unserious. Not fair or ideal but it’s the landscape we’re navigating when we build strategies and write content for people.

For Executives: Competence Is Assumed. Warmth Builds Connection.

If you’ve got the title and the track record, people already believe you know what you’re doing. The question is: can you put people at ease? Can you show a little humanity without veering into overshare?

Instead of:

“Excited to share my first 90 days at [Company]…”

Try:

“Even execs get nervous before their first day. I’m grateful to the team at [Company] for making me feel not just respected, but truly at home. Here’s what we’ve tackled together in these first 90 days.”

Still authoritative. But now we like you.

For Junior Professionals: Act like you’ve been there before, boo.

When you’re earlier in your career, you’re often trying to prove you belong. That’s fair. But the answer isn’t a flood of enthusiasm or overly polished language.

Instead of:

“So grateful to be part of this amazing campaign that crushed our goals!”

Try:

“Our campaign hit 140% of our target. Three factors made the difference:

1. Timing the launch with earnings season

2. Partnering with micro-influencers

3. Switching our CTA from ‘learn more’ to ‘get started’

I led the research behind those shifts, and I’m proud of the outcome—but even prouder to be part of the team that executed so seamlessly.”

You’re showing what mattered and what you did to make it happen. And you don’t sound too pick-me. That’s competence with warmth. Nicely done.

Our Favorite Low-Lift Warmth Hack

The humble yellow heart. 💛
It’s warm. It’s professional. It works. Simple as that.

A LinkedIn Tip for People

If you want to tag someone in your post but aren’t sure they’ll engage with it (meaning: Like, comment or reshare):
- post
- wait 24 hours
- edit your post to tag that person

Why? If you tag someone and they don’t like or comment, LinkedIn will punish your post performance. And the more high-profile the person, the steeper the penalty. (Rude, but true.)

I did this earlier this week when I mentioned the inimitable

Emily Sundberg

. Waited a day. Tagged her later. And goddamn if Ms. Sundberg herself didn’t like and repost my post. Bless. (Receipts here.)

A LinkedIn Tip for Brands

Today I’ll say: Work with Medbury. We’ve been proposing and running a version of this package a A LOT the past month - mostly for Saas brands - and I love it. It’s super high-impact for bottom line - it helps LinkedIn immediately support pipeline + conversion and reach - but it really doesn’t require much of your marketing team or sales folks. Reply back to learn more, you won’t regret it.

A Link I Liked

• This NYTimes story about a couple who found love and became business partners via LinkedIn. Cah-yute-ah.

• This episode of The Magical Overthinkers Podcast on intuition vs anxiety.

I guess that’s two links. My substack my rules?

Okay. That’s all she wrote.

Thanks for reading.

xo,
Meredith

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This newsletter is produced by Medbury. (We say it like “Med - Berry” 🍓) We’re an agency focused on LinkedIn strategy and content for leadership teams and brands. Check out our site, follow us on LinkedIn or book 15 minutes to learn about our work