Make Your Point the First Time
Lucinda from London wrote asking for advice on how to “articulate an intelligent idea in a public meeting” with colleagues. She said she works in a highly political atmosphere and wants to encourage a healthy debate, not just sniping at her idea. Here are some tips for how to be taken seriously without going over the The Thin Pink Line:
- The most memorable or important part of your message, whether you’re answering a question or giving an opinion, should be your lead sentence. Don’t fall into the trap of giving a lot of background information then getting to your point. In this day and age of sound bytes people have very short attention spans.
- Back up your first sentence with just two or three pieces of supporting information of data points. When you get to the third one, stop and move people toward a decision or taking action with a simple phrase like, “Is there any reason why we shouldn’t move forward on this?” or “What questions can I answer to make you comfortable making a decision about this?” Resist the temptation to fill in silence with continued talking. Be patient and wait.
- When responding to questions listen carefully for the type of question being asked. If it’s a yes/no questions, then the first thing out of your mouth must be yes or no. If it’s a multiple choice question you must choose one of the options and give two or three reasons why you did so.
- Keep in mind the maxim, “Short sounds confident.” Most women can reduce the length of their communications by about 20%. Trust me, the extra words won’t be missed.
Putting it all together sounds something like this, “I propose we devote an additional 15% of the budget next year to marketing. There are three reasons why I say this. First, we haven’t updated our marketing plan in over five years. Second, in the last year alone the elements of successful marketing campaigns have changed dramatically. And third, we anticipate adding an new product that will require a launch within the next 18 months. Can we agree to do this?”
TAGS: Communication Skills, Making Your Point, Presentation Skills
That is a great question and a response that I totally agree with. I have seen lot of people who are considered powerful AND effective speakers present their ideas this way in meetings. One question I have about responding to someone else’s question where a yes/no responde is required. I would agree that the answer should start with a yes or no, but I have seen time and time again, lot of people not saying a yes/no, instead responding with information. And these are people in power who I think would have no issue saying a yes/no. Do you think they respond without a yes/no confirmation because sometimes they don’t want to publically commit to an answer, or is there another reason.
Comment by Gagan Rudra — September 8, 2008 @ 10:55 am
Great question, Gagan. It’s true that sometimes they don’t want to commit in public or it may be that they want to collect more information responding definitively. If it’s the latter, that’s exactly what they should say, “Let me reserve my response until I collect additional data.” More often, however, it’s because most people tend to think out loud when they don’t have an immediate response — which is why they begin with information. Which can be OK in the right situation, but that calls for saying something like, “Let me think out loud for a moment.” This cues your listeners that your response will not be cast in concrete or perfectly crafted. Make sense?
Comment by Dr. Lois Frankel — September 8, 2008 @ 11:51 am