...can't get you out of my head...

It never ceases to amaze me, that in this brand new frontier of career change, there is so much of my past experience and training that I can use in my new role as a coach/trainer.  I originally trained as a lawyer and one of the things we had to learn to do, was read a case and extract the 'ratio decidendi'.   Although it sounds fancy, it just means the main point of the case.  Bearing in mind that judgements in court cases can run to pages and pages of legal opinion, you'd better be able to extract the main point of the case, otherwise you'd never be able to use one case to support another, ever again (ok I'm exaggerating a bit)

In order to communicate effectively, we also need to have a main point or a central message. What is the one thing you want your audience to remember from your presentation or speech?  Given that most of us forget most of what we hear very quickly, as effective communicators, we need to ensure that our central message is clear and compelling enough for our audience to remember. It's got to be so memorable, that your audience just can't get it out of their heads!

The best kind of core message in my mind though, is one that actually becomes a slogan.  Who can forget Muhammad Ali's "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee" or Nike's "just do it"? I'm not sure if they started as slogans or central messages, but whatever the case, they are just indelibly printed on your mind and whenever you hear them, you just remember the individual or company.  Are we all going to be able to come up with such memorable central messages? Probably not, but when we prepare properly for our presentations, we can come up with something our audience will remember and hopefully take away with them.  Once you've got a core message, then use every other point to support it and it makes your whole presentation that much more compelling.

So people, that's my central message today: make sure you have a central message.

Would you like some help becoming a more effective communicator? Call us on +234 706 335 0864 or contact us through this blog.


Until next time, speak up, because the world needs to hear your voice.