For the last year or so my 9-year-old son's favorite expression has alternated between “what the sigma?” and “what the skibidi?”
And at least three times in the last couple of weeks I’ve heard parents ask each other, “What the heck is ‘six-seven’?” (If you’re a parent of young kids, I just heard your brain shout “YES!!”)
We've all had those moments when we hear kids spouting some bizarre new slang term and think, “Where did that come from… and what on earth does it mean?”
FYI – “skibidi” was a toilet with a creepy animated talking head. If you’re a glutton for punishment you can find it on YT or social media. I won’t inflict it on you here…
Not only that, but according to Adam Aleksic in his (highly recommended) book Algospeak, Hollywood is now making a feature movie out of it. (Talk about cinematic culture going down the toilet… but I digress.)
And “six-seven” is a catch-all non-answer, like “so-so” or “whatever.” (To my Philly-based colleagues, think “Jawn.”)
In fairness, I shouldn’t judge, since I was a child of the '80s when “valley girl” lingo was all the rage. Despite the fact that I now coach clients—male and female alike—on how to avoid some of those stereotypical valley-girl-esque speech habits (think “like” every third word and that up-talk questioning intonation at the end of every sentence), if I’m being honest, I must confess that a fair bit of both came out of my then-teenage mouth back in the day. Gag me with a spoon.
And now, watching my son, it’s a full-circle moment. It’s also a communication wake-up call.
Why “Skibidi Sigma” Is More Relevant Than You Think
I recently stumbled across a fun video that made this idea crystal clear. Language expert Arieh Smith, better known online as Xiaomanyc, was invited to speak at a high school’s World Languages Week. But instead of giving a standard speech, he gave the entire talk in Gen Alpha slang.
At first, the students were “cringe.” But by the end their reaction and applause showed that they gave him credit for landing it, “no cap”. (His main talk is from 2:00-7:00.)
And that, friends, is the leadership skill most of us don’t even realize we need to develop:
Learning to speak other people’s language.
And before your “Yeah-But” reflex kicks into overdrive, let’s make one thing crystal clear:
Whether or not Arieh Smith would claim it felt “authentic” to speak in such exaggerated Gen-Alpha slang is utterly irrelevant – and I’m quite sure he would agree with that assessment.
He had a point to make, so he leveraged their language as a tool to make it, and he landed it perfectly, with exactly the reaction and impact he wanted to have. And there’s absolutely NOTHING inauthentic about that.
Where We Get Stuck: The Expert’s Curse
I started working with Dan a while ago. A brilliant finance executive, he said:
“Everything is related in my head, and even though I’m perfectly confident when I’m speaking, what comes out is ‘word-soup,’ and I lose people.”
When you’ve been doing what you do for years (or decades), it’s easy to get trapped in what I call “The Expert’s Curse.” You start explaining things based on what you know, in the language you prefer—dense with technical detail, acronyms, industry jargon, and the details that you geek out on.
But that’s not necessarily what your audience cares about. In fact, most of the time they don't understand or appreciate way more than you think.
That’s when your brilliant pitch, proposal, or presentation hits a brick wall of blank stares, awkward silences, or polite nods followed by zero follow-up.
Or worse – interruption, argument, contradiction and overt resistance.
Instead of getting the enthusiastic “Yes!” you were hoping for, your audience is thinking: “What the sigma?”
Flip the Script: Speak Their Language First
Influential leadership communication isn’t about dumbing things down. It’s about building bridges—speaking in ways that your listener finds relevant, useful, and valuable.
That starts with asking yourself some key questions—ones I outline in my “Breaking the Expert’s Curse” workshop. For example:
- What are the listener’s preconceptions? (Are they skeptical? Misinformed? Overconfident?)
- What are their priorities? (Cost, speed, reputation, ease of use?)
- What potential objections might they raise? (Budget? Risk? Time?)
- What emotions are they feeling while listening? (Curiosity? Frustration? Resentment? Fear?)
And here’s the kicker: They may not speak your language—so don’t expect them to translate. You have to do the adapting, if you want to get a particular response and outcome.
Watch Out for These Common Traps
As you prep for your next conversation or presentation, keep an eye out for these red flags that scream “expert’s curse”:
- Jargon overload – Just because you understand the acronyms doesn't mean your audience does.
- Exposure ≠ knowledge – You may have introduced a concept in last quarter’s presentation, but that doesn’t mean they remember everything (or anything)
- Feature dumping – Highlight benefits first, then show how the features support them. The value of each feature isn’t obvious to everyone
- “Altitude” mismatch – If they’re focused on big picture strategy, don’t get lost in the weeds. If they’re all about execution, get your head out of the clouds.
Want the “Yes”? Here’s Your Game Plan
- Do your homework. Map out your audience’s mindset using the four questions above.
- Start where they are. Anchor your message in their concerns, not your credentials.
- Translate value. Explain your idea in terms of what it does for them and their primary goals, not what it is.
- Use relatable analogies. If you can’t frame the initial concept as clearly as if you were going to explain it to a 12-year-old, you don’t understand it well enough.
- Practice out loud… and record yourself. If your pitch sounds like a TED Talk in your head but a word soup out loud, that’s a sign you need to tighten it up.
Ready to Ditch the Jargon and Get the Yes?
If you or someone on your team keeps getting stuck in the “expert’s curse,” whether it’s for pitching, public speaking, board presentations, or just making sure your message lands—let’s talk.
Reach out here and let’s get you speaking the language that gets results.
Because when you do, your message won’t go down the skibidi, and your audience will be thinking:
“Yes!” … instead of “What the sigma?”
