For every discipline there are rules to be followed in order to reach maximum efficacy. This is especially true for communicating your ideas to others. I have been a public speaker for at least 40 years and I know due to experience how significant it is to accept good rules in addressing a bunch or one on one. There are plenty of rules that apply but for the sake of space I may just list 5 that I think of as really important:
1. Consider the reference points of your listeners and never talk over their heads
2. Take care in what you are saying (Avoid offensive statements)
3. Include details for clear understanding (Anything that can be misunderstood will be)
4. Communicate in the details of what folks need and want to grasp.
5. Explain concepts that undergird what you are talking about
Never talk over the head of your listeners:
A good rough guide is to keep your communication on about a 5th grade level. This is not intended to insult anyone’s intelligence but the reality is that when you talk at that level, all will have a better chance of understanding what you are saying, while if you go higher some will understand but you may also lose some.
Never utilize a giant word if there is a easy one that can serve the purpose. Some get the point that high sounding words give the appearance of being extremely smart or educated but that isn’t always correct. It’d give the look of being a clumsy speaker. It requires a good education and good understanding of the language to be well placed to communicate complicated ideas in easy terms.
The point of communicating well is not to think on the speaker but on the wants of those listening. When you speak, always consider your audience and how you can best meet their needs.
Take care in what you say:
If a display is offensive, it losses all effectiveness and will be confounded by the listeners and therefore be a waste of your time for all involved. It is impossible to avoid offending everybody all of the time, but the point is to be cautious and avoid using highly controversial material, particularly when it is uncalled for, or adds insignificant value to your presentation.
One thing I have spotted about some inspiring speakers is they invariably add profanity to their talk. Perhaps this is to add some force to what they are sayingI have no idea. But when they do so they may offend some who do not use profanity and are repelled by it. So it is far better to keep it out of public addresses. Rarely ever will you hear a president or somebody in high office use profanity in public. They know it offends some and lowers their public image.
Include details for clear understanding:
I consider myself to be a pretty smart guy, after all I graduated at the top of my university class, but I have trouble sometimes understanding directions on how to perform certain jobs relating to the computer. I do not believe is often because I’m dumb but instead because the details are lacking and there is a shortage of clearness. I recently acquired Article Samaria, which is software for article syndication. I was amazed at the clearness and easiness of the instructional videos. It was not a genuine complicated issue to understand but might have been easily misunderstood had the directions been poorly done.
It is a mistake to take for granted that your audience understands your subject matter as well as you who have spent hours studying and analysing it. The more details you can include, the less complicated it is going to be for everyone to understand. I must add here that you can also include too much detail to the point that it becomes boring. So knowing the correct quantity of detail for your particular audience is the key.
Communicate in the particulars of what folks want and need to know :
Just today I gave my e-mail to receive some information on a subject I was researching only to get and advert to sell information and the information guaranteed was never given. That was just a bit annoying to say the least. To address folks, who’ve come to receive certain specific information, on not related issues is a waste of your time.
I’ve heard speeches that were supposed to be informing on a certain subject wind up being nothing more than a handful of not related information on personal. Experiences and jokes, while maybe entertaining was not advantageous for what I wanted and needed to hear.
Knowing your audience and what they need and want is critical. For example, you could prepare a great talk on the techniques of creating a business, but if it was on building a conventional storefront business and your listeners are all Internet marketers it wouldn’t meet their needs at all.
Explain concepts that undergird what you are talking about:
Ideas are the foundation upon which a presentation is built. If the underpinning for a building isn’t important then the building isn’t substantial either. It’s important to incorporate the ideas of your subject and build on them. This gives a clear understanding to your listeners.
I posted and article today on the advent of people skills. In the text I included the concepts on which learning new people skills is based. Without those ideas the presentation would just have been educational without any practical value. But by adding the ideas by which people skills are incorporated into the brain, it became an instructional roadmap on how to instead of just informing about social skills.
Conclusion:
Improving your communication talents takes time and practice, whether or not it is to a giant audience, small group or one on one. Learning good rules of communication and then incorporating them into your daily communication will give you the edge in time to become a great communicator.
About the author: Jimmie Burroughs is a motivational speaker and writer who has been concerned in teaching Christian Private Development for at least 30 years. He is a dedicated believer in Jesus Christ and considers helping people his calling in life. His website contains over 600 articles on preparing yourself for success thru private development and the things that accompany personal development.
