7 Impactful Communication Challenges That Will Transform Your Business and Personal Life

By Wade Paterson

Communication is the lifeblood of every successful career and relationship. We all know it matters — but there's a difference between effective communication and impactful communication. The former gets the job done. The latter changes lives. Consider these statistics: 91% of employees say their leaders lack communication skills, and poor communication is the number two reason cited for divorce. Whether you're building a business or nurturing personal relationships, the ability to communicate with genuine impact is rare — and it's worth pursuing. Here are seven specific communication ideas, each with a concrete challenge, to help you get there. The key? Don't try to do all seven. Pick the one that resonates most and actually go do it.

1. The Gosling: Make an Impact with Handwritten Letters

Ryan Gosling's character in The Notebook wrote 365 letters. While that's a Hollywood love story, the principle behind it is very real: handwritten letters carry an emotional weight that almost no other form of communication can match.

In 2019, I gave myself a challenge to write one letter per week — 52 letters to people who had made an impact on my life. The inspiration came partly from speaker Hal Elrod, who advocates for starting your morning with intentional activities like journaling or gratitude writing. I took that idea and tweaked it: instead of writing to myself, I wrote to other people.

The results were remarkable. I heard back from almost everyone. About a quarter wrote a letter back to me. But what struck me most was how many people told me they hadn't received a handwritten letter in five years, ten years — and in some cases, ever.

One friend from high school received my letter during a period when he was struggling at work and dealing with personal challenges. A full year later, he called and told me he'd kept that letter on his dining room table and re-read it about once a month. That single experience made the entire project worthwhile.

When's the last time someone said that about an email you wrote? Letters are different. Letters are impactful.

The Gosling Challenge: Write eight letters by hand over the next two months — one per week. They could be to a co-worker, a fellow professional, your spouse, or your kids. When's the last time you wrote your children a letter telling them you're proud of them?

2. The Voltaire: Make an Impact with Questions

Voltaire famously said, "Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers." This principle can transform your conversations — especially in professional settings like networking events, client meetings, and recruiting interviews.

Here's an example. A broker I worked with — let's call him Bob — was trying to recruit a high-producing agent named Sally. In his interview, Bob led with a pitch: he told Sally about his office's average production, RE/MAX's 91% brand recognition, and the training programs they offered. Sally chose another brokerage.

Now imagine Bob had approached the conversation differently. Instead of leading with his pitch, he asked: "Sally, tell me a little bit about what you want to accomplish in your career." Then he followed up: "What's holding you back?" Sally might have revealed that she was tired of explaining her brand to clients, that she'd exhausted her current office's training, and that she felt she had another gear. Armed with that information, Bob could have tailored his pitch directly to Sally's pain points. Same information, completely different impact.

This isn't just intuition — it's backed by research. A 2017 Harvard study found that people who ask more questions, especially follow-up questions, are consistently perceived as more likeable. They're seen as more responsive, more caring, and better listeners. The study even included a speed-dating element: people who asked more questions were significantly more likely to get a second date.

The Voltaire Challenge: Over the next month, make a conscious effort to ask more questions in every conversation. Imagine someone is keeping score — one point for every question you ask. At the end of every conversation, aim to win.

3. The Strombo: Make an Impact with Interviews

George Stroumboulopoulos built a career on the art of the interview, demonstrating that asking great questions of interesting people creates compelling content. This principle applies directly to your business and social media strategy.

I first grasped this concept through a RE/MAX agent named Michael Thorne, who launched a series called "My 30 Favorite Places in 30 Days." Michael interviewed local business owners, highlighted community landmarks, and released one video per day. What Michael taught me is that interviews allow you to leverage someone else's knowledge, experience, and — critically — their audience.

Here's how it works. One of the biggest challenges on social media is reaching new people. Your Facebook business page might have 200 followers, and only a fraction of them see your content organically. But when you interview Joe from Joe's Coffee Shop and tag his business when you share it, Joe is thrilled to share that content with his audience of 3,000 followers. Multiply that across 10 or 20 businesses, and you've dramatically expanded your reach — organically.

There's a branding advantage here too. You simply introduce yourself — "Hey everyone, it's [your name] with RE/MAX" — and people instantly know what you do. You don't need a sales pitch. You're demonstrating that you care about your community, and that speaks volumes.

The Strombo Challenge: Create a minimum 10-day interview series featuring local businesses and community leaders. This is one of the tougher challenges, but sometimes the most difficult ones deliver the best return on investment.

4. The Rogan: Make an Impact with Podcasts

Two years ago, I didn't know what a podcast was or where to download one. Then, on a work trip, I grew restless with my music library and asked friends for podcast recommendations. That next flight changed everything. I wasn't just killing time — I was educating myself. The habit stuck, and my commute transformed from top-40 radio into a mobile classroom.

Podcasts have accomplished something remarkable: they capture people's attention for significant lengths of time. We'll scroll past a two-minute video on social media without a second thought, but we'll listen to a 30-minute or even three-hour podcast from start to finish — in little breaks throughout the day, during commutes, at the gym, while cooking dinner.

That sustained access to attention is incredibly rare and incredibly valuable. And because the barrier to entry is higher than most content formats, fewer people actually do it — which means less competition and potentially greater returns for those who commit.

The Rogan Challenge: Create a podcast and launch at least five episodes. Five is the minimum because too many podcasts die after one or two episodes. Give yourself a fair chance to get comfortable with the process. The ROI may surprise you.

5. The Onion: Make an Impact More Than Once

Onions have layers — and so should your content. Too often, we create a single piece of content, check it off our list, and move on. But with a little resourcefulness, every piece of content can become multiple pieces.

Here's a practical example. When we record an episode of our podcast, that's one piece of content. But then:

And here's a bonus: when you tag your guest in these posts, they'll often share the content with their own audience — extending your reach without any additional effort or ad spend on your part.

The Onion Challenge: Over the next month, take 10 pieces of content and turn them into 30. You're not tripling your workload — you're being more resourceful with the work you're already doing to get triple the output.

6. The Slide: Make an Impact with Direct Video Messages

There's a well-known framework in communication: 55% of a message is conveyed through body language, 38% through vocal tone, and only 7% through the actual words. Yet when we rely on text messages and emails, we're asking that 7% to carry the entire load. It's no wonder miscommunication runs rampant in our inboxes.

Think about it: how many times have you misinterpreted an email's tone, or wondered why someone seemed upset when they weren't? The words alone simply can't convey the full message.

Video messages solve this problem. Whether you use a dedicated tool like BombBomb — which provides helpful analytics like open rates and view tracking — or simply shoot a quick video on your phone and send it via text, Instagram DM, or email attachment, video lets you communicate with your full self: your expressions, your tone, your warmth.

Often, recording a short video is actually faster than typing out a thoughtful email. And the recipient will almost always appreciate the personal touch far more than they would a block of text.

The Slide Challenge: Send at least 10 video direct messages or emails over the next month. If you already use video messaging regularly, pick a different challenge — but if this is new territory for you, try it out. The results will speak for themselves.

7. The Santa: Make an Impact with Extraordinary Gifts

This final idea comes from a conversation with Johnny Cupcakes — the entrepreneur famous for his t-shirt shops disguised as bakeries, where fridges hold folded tees instead of pastries and every customer leaves with a story worth telling.

During a podcast interview, Johnny shared something that stopped me in my tracks. One July, he gathered his staff and casually asked them about the best Christmas gifts they'd ever received as children. Everyone lit up, sharing nostalgic stories with big smiles. What they didn't realize was that Johnny was quietly taking notes.

Over the next six months, Johnny tracked down every one of those gifts — on eBay, Amazon, at garage sales — those rare toys and nostalgic treasures. That Christmas, he gave each staff member their favorite childhood gift. Some cried. The gesture showed that Johnny didn't just hear their words — he listened, he remembered, and he cared enough to act on it.

Remember that statistic about 91% of employees saying their leaders lack communication skills? How many of Johnny's employees would have said that about him on that day? My guess is zero.

I was so moved by Johnny's story that I went back through our interview, found where he'd mentioned loving the smell of record stores from his days working at Newbury Comics in Boston, and scoured the internet until I found a candle that smelled like a vinyl shop. I sent it to him with a handwritten note. Taking Johnny's own example and turning it around on him felt like the only right thing to do.

The Santa Challenge: This year, give at least five next-level, deeply thoughtful gifts to people who mean a lot to you. Don't wait for Christmas — a surprise gift in the middle of an ordinary week often carries even more weight.

Choose One and Take Action

Let's recap the seven challenges:

The difference between effective communication and impactful communication isn't complicated — it's intentional. It's choosing to write instead of type, to ask instead of tell, to show your face instead of hiding behind text, and to listen closely enough that you can surprise someone with proof that you care. You don't need to overhaul everything. Pick one challenge. The one that made you pause, that sparked something. Then go do it — in your business, in your relationships, in your life. Impactful communication is rare, but it doesn't have to be.

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