Podcast Summary: From the Ground Up

Episode: EXPERT EXCHANGE: Your Brand Voice Doesn’t Stand Out, You’re Doing It Wrong
Date: September 24, 2025
Host: Inc. Magazine
Guests: Dr. Gina Anderson (CEO and cofounder, Luma Brighter Learning); Marissa Murgatroyd (founder, Live Your Message)

Episode Overview

This Expert Exchange edition highlights the essentials of building a memorable and authentic brand voice. Dr. Gina Anderson and Marissa Murgatroyd explore how founders and entrepreneurs can stand out in a crowded marketplace by being intentional, authentic, and sometimes controversial in their communication. The conversation delves into the strategic importance of developing a voice that not only attracts the right audience but also repels those who aren’t aligned—making radical clarity a competitive advantage.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Power of Repelling as Much as Attracting

Repel to Attract (00:50–01:05)
- Dr. Gina Anderson stresses that not every customer is meant for your brand. An effective voice attracts those who resonate and, just as crucially, repels those who don’t.
- Quote:
  
  “In order to attract, you have to be willing to repel the people who are not for you. Because you're not trying to sell to everyone, you're trying to sell to people who share your beliefs…”
  — Dr. Gina Anderson [00:50]

2. Building Your Voice—Company vs. Personal Brand

Voice Construction: Values and Guidelines (01:05–01:51)
- Marissa asks Gina how to build brand voice, especially as thought leadership.
- Anderson describes writing a “brand voice statement” as the starting point, outlining communication style, values, and beliefs—what the brand stands for and against.
- The process includes grammar preferences, terminology, and even a “definition sheet” for internal clarity.
- Quote:
  
  “…writing out the brand voice statement, which is how does the brand and the company communicate? That combined with the values, the core underlying belief, what we're for, what we're against…”
  — Dr. Gina Anderson [01:17]
- Company language should be defined down to proprietary terms and consistency in grammar choices:
  
  “We don't use Oxford commas, we use contractions to make it more personal…”
  — Dr. Gina Anderson [01:28]

3. Consistency as the Foundation of Trust

Internal Alignment and Customer Experience (02:17–03:17)
- Anderson notes the challenge isn’t just defining a voice but ensuring team-wide consistency—across customer support, social media, marketing, and more.
- Especially in education and transformation businesses, any inconsistency can undermine trust and give customers a reason to disengage.
- “Cracks in the container” are to be avoided to maintain the sense of reliability and commitment.
- Quote:
  
  “As soon as there’s a crack, it gives people an out. And so, trying to find, for me, like, seeing the world where even if it’s a customer support message … that there’s that consistency of voice, so people can feel like this is a company that we can trust.”
  — Dr. Gina Anderson [02:34]

4. Ownership vs. Delegation in Communication

Anderson acknowledges she’s no longer writing everything personally, but still reviews almost every piece for voice fidelity.
The goal: If the brand’s name and logo were stripped from materials, would people still recognize it as yours?
- Quote:
  
  “…if you stripped your name and your logo off your materials, would people still know it’s you? … Most people have a voice that’s just what I call meh.”
  — Dr. Gina Anderson [03:05]

5. Radical Authenticity and Stretching the Comfort Zone

Voice should be “authentic” but also more pronounced, even radical, in today’s marketplace.
Anderson advises to gradually push the boundaries with each communication, being more open, expressive, and bold. This allows founders to find and refine their true voice while gauging real audience responses.
- Quote:
  
  “…people value authenticity, but they also value more radical expression. … practice stretching with every communication. Say a little more, share a little more, amp up the volume a little bit more, and then see how people respond…”
  — Dr. Gina Anderson [03:19]

Memorable Moments and Notable Quotes

On Repelling as a Strategy:
“You’re not trying to sell to everyone, you're trying to sell to people who share your beliefs…” — Dr. Gina Anderson [00:50]
On Consistency as Trust:
“…We need to keep this pristine world so there’s no cracks in the container of what we’re delivering to our customers.” — Dr. Gina Anderson [02:25]
On Recognizability:
“If you stripped your name and your logo off your materials, would people still know it’s you?” — Dr. Gina Anderson [03:05]
Stretching Voice:
“…practice stretching with every communication. Say a little more, share a little more, amp up the volume a little bit more…” — Dr. Gina Anderson [03:19]

Timestamps for Key Segments

00:50: Dr. Gina Anderson on attracting and repelling through strong brand voice
01:05–01:51: Defining the brand voice and the nuts and bolts of documentation
02:17–03:17: Ensuring consistent voice across all touchpoints; maintaining trust
03:05: Recognizability of brand voice without markers
03:19: Practical advice on pushing the boundaries of authentic communication

Tone and Language

Throughout the conversation, Anderson's tone is direct and energizing—she challenges founders to break out of the “meh” and safe mold and be both authentic and distinct. The insights are practical but push for boldness, making the episode ideal for entrepreneurs looking to truly set themselves apart.

Summary:
This episode dives deep into how a potent and authentic brand voice can propel a business—by being both inclusive and exclusive, unwaveringly consistent, and a little bit bold. Listeners are left with clear, actionable strategies and the inspiration to “amp up the volume” on their own brand communications.

Transcript

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Josh Christensen (0:24)

Josh Christensen, executive producer of Inc Podcasts. And today we have another edition of Expert Exchange for the presented by principal. In today's conversation, you're gonna hear Dr. Gina Anderson, CEO and co founder of Luma Brighter Learning and Marissa Murgatroyd, founder of Live youe Message. They discuss how authenticity, clarity and even a little controversy can help you create a voice that stands out. Here's that conversation.

Dr. Gina Anderson (0:50)

I think a lot of people don't realize that in order to attract, you have to be willing to repel the people who are not for you. Because you're not trying to sell to everyone, you're trying to sell to people who share your beliefs, who share your.

Marissa Murgatroyd (1:05)

So let me ask you about like kind of building your voice. I've been trying to build my thought leadership page. How do you really build your voice and what does that look like for you versus your company?

Dr. Gina Anderson (1:17)

Yeah, so where we started is really writing out the brand voice statement, which is how does the brand and the company communicate? That combined with the values, the core underlying belief, what we're for, what we're against. You know, all of these different layers, even words of this is how we use grammar. We don't use oxford commas, we use contractions to make it more personal. You know, we have definition sheets. So all the different terms that we use in the company, whether they're the proprietary terms, in particular with the different frameworks that we've created, there are definition sheets for what?

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Dr. Gina Anderson (2:17)

And so that's actually been not a challenge for me to deliver on that, but for the whole team to get on board and make sure that we're creating a consistent world. And when it comes to, I think education and transformation, people are looking, looking for a way out. Does that make sense? They're committing to changing their lives, but there's A lot of fear and there's a lot of gravitational pull to the way things are. And so we need to keep this pristine world so there's no cracks in the container of what we're delivering to our customers. Because as soon as there's a crack, it gives people an out. And so trying to find, for me, like, seeing the world where even if it's a customer support message, even if it's a social media, it's a personal email from me, one of our other team members are writing because it's a delivery email, it's a marketing email that there's that consistency of voice, voice that comes through so people can feel like this is a company that we can trust. Now, the voice is the emails and stuff. They come from me, so it's actually my name. I'm not writing everything anymore, though I still review most everything. So I think it's really taking the time to get clear on what that looks like and sounds like. And a friend of mine said once, if you stripped your name and your logo off your materials, would people still know it's you? And I think you want to have a voice that people know it's you even if they didn't know it was you. Because most people have a voice that's just what I call meh. And I think we're in a world where people value authenticity, but they also value more radical expression. And it's getting out of the comfort zone. And so I always recommend to my students is to kind of just practice stretching with every communication. Say a little more, share a little more, amp up the volume a little bit more, and then see how people respond panoply.