9 Tips for Clear, Concise, and Compelling Communication

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A common question I get from coaching clients is “how do I become a more clear, concise and compelling communicator?”

It’s no surprise because clear, concise and compelling communication is more important now than ever before.

Consider this:

• The average  human attention span has fallen from 12 seconds in the year 2000 to eight seconds today.
• Each day, the typical office worker receives 120 emails.
• Every time a person is distracted it takes over 23 minutes for them to regain focus.

Given these realities, it’s no wonder that studies rank good communication skills as twice as important as good managerial skills such as budgeting. That’s because, in this age of oversaturation, there’s little margin for error. In fact, 86% of employees blame lack of good communication for workplace failures.

People get impatient when they have to work mental overtime to grasp what you’re saying. Long-windedness can be perceived as indecisiveness and quickly cost you trust and respect as a leader.

Concise communication is clearly an essential part of leadership presence and projecting confidence, but it’s also something leaders struggle with.

You overexplain.

You may think that you’re being thorough, but all you’re really doing is losing the other person’s attention. Instead of making your point clear, you end up clouding it by overexplaining. Many leaders inadvertently overcompensate for their insecurities by saying more, especially in situations where they feel intimidated. 

You think everyone is like you. (Read: the false consensus bias)

You may like to process information deeply, but you’re in the minority (only about 15-20% of the population is like this). In the information age, I understand the need to take in lots of data points before making a decision. But other people, especially senior management, don’t operate that way. They get easily overwhelmed by too much information and would prefer you be direct and to the point.

You’re trying to be someone you’re not.

Clients tell me that they “need a bigger personality” in order to exude leadership presence. No, you don’t. If you try to be someone you’re not, others will sense it. Not only will you come off as inauthentic, but you’ll also exhaust yourself in the process. Better to find a way to communicate concisely in a manner that fits your personality and style.

9 Tips for Clear, Concise and Compelling Communication

1. Prepare in advance

Without preparation, you can’t be brief. Before any important meeting, take five minutes to review the agenda and other provided materials. Jot down notes for yourself. Organize your thoughts and earmark where you want to contribute.

If you’ll be speaking, go through the extra steps of creating talking points and anticipating objections and questions. I like to have my clients prepare a few “frequently asked questions” to have in their back pocket, just in case there’s silence at the end of their presentation. 

2. Provide a pre-read

If you have a lot of information to share, consider preparing a pre-read. This is a document that provides background information on a topic. It means you can give your audience needed context and then be briefer in your time together. A pre-read may be reports, slides, or detailed analytics.

3. Complete the sentence, “If you walk away from this conversation with one thing, I want it to be ______.”

If you were forced to boil down your main idea to one sentence, what would it be? Use this as the subject line of your email or repeat the phrase verbatim when you speak. It’ll ensure you’re drawing your audience’s attention to the biggest takeaway you want them to remember.

4. Use the PREP framework

When you’re forced to speak impromptu, you can speak strongly and coherently using the PREP framework. Here’s how it works: Make a point succinctly, back it up with a reason, provide evidence, and end by reiterating your point. For example...

Point: I believe we should take direction A

Reason: We’ve received positive feedback about this approach

Evidence: For instance, our president said he supports it

Point: That’s why I believe direction A is best

5. Use bridging and flagging statements to highlight and punctuate your points

Flagging and bridging refer to two PR tactics that you can take into the meeting. Flagging is like sticking a flag in the ground or waving one in the air to say, “pay attention - this is important!” Whereas bridging helps you make a transition from one idea to another. Bridging is especially useful when you want to change the subject or steer the conversation in a different direction.

Examples of flagging statements are:

• It all boils down to…
• The heart of the matter is…
• I can’t underscore enough…

Examples of bridging statements are:

+ I cannot speak to ____, but what I can say is...

+ While ____ is important, it’s also important to remember that...

+ Before we leave this subject, I'd like to add...

6. Know your audience

Consider what concerns and objections are top of mind for the people you’re communicating with. What do they care about the most? What problems are they trying to solve? Most importantly, what’s in it for them if they listen to you? How will what you are sharing with them help save them time or make their job easier? Frame your message in terms of how it impacts your audience.

7. Ask questions

Oftentimes clear and concise communication is about asking and listening more and telling less . Try out some of these open-ended questions:

+  What do you make of what I've shared?

+  What do you think is best?

+  How does this look to you?

+  What would you add or change?

+  How do you feel about it?

+  What's your impression of X?

+  How does this fit into your plans?

+  What part is not yet clear?

(But don't pose all the questions at once 👲)

8. Edit your emails

A good rule of thumb: emails shouldn’t be more than 6 lines. If your email is longer than that, condense it down or make it a phone or Teams call.

Make sure your message is scannable. That means short paragraphs and sentences. Use bullet points and numbering to make the text easier to digest.

9. Eliminate fluff

Hedging language, such as “I just wanted to check in” or “Could we maybe find a time to chat?” minimize the power of your words.

Clear, concise and compelling communication is a vital skill in life, and at work. It helps you not only to get what you want, but also to build relationships and maintain a great reputation. While there are lots of different communication tools and techniques that help you to improve, the 9 tips offer an easy way to ensure that your communication is always as effective as possible.

Check out a related post: The Enormous Cost of Unclear Communication: And What to Do About It

 To your greater success and fulfillment,

Peter Mclees, Leadership Coach, Trainer and Performance Consultant
SMART DEVELOPMENT

 

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