From the course: Speaking Up At Work

Prepare every time you speak

From the course: Speaking Up At Work

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Prepare every time you speak

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- In the previous video, where I talked about how you can use your voice as an asset, I pointed out how depending on the role you play, it makes a huge difference in the environment you're creating and the energy level you're (mumbles). But what is also really important in being a strategic and confident communicator is preparing your message. The simpler and more concise your message is the farther the message will go. In fact, a lot of people actually do the opposite. A lot of people just talk and the more they talk, the more unsure they sound and the more confused other people get. So in order to prepare your message, you want to ask yourself this question how can you express that same thought in a more simple and concise way? In fact, when I was a former television news reporter this was something I would ask myself all the time. I would ask myself, how can I convey the story, the concept, the issue in a much simpler, concise way so that someone younger or with less experience could easily understand it. By simply asking myself that one question, it made a huge difference in how I presented the message. So let's say you are preparing a conversation where your intention is to motivate those in this conversation. So how can you challenge yourself to simplify the message? You want to ask yourself these two questions. The first one is what is the most interesting part of that message? You want to lead with that because that'll capture their attention. The second question you want to ask yourself is what is the takeaway point that you want others to leave with? That is how you want to end your message. By asking yourself these two questions, you'll be able to identify what is the most critical part. Preparing your message so that it is simple and concise is really important in you being able to be a strategic and effective communicator.

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