First things first...

I am a huge fan of romantic comedies and anything by Richard Curtis, usually hits my sweet spot (don't judge me!). One of my favourites is 'Love Actually' it's not as great as Four Weddings and a Funeral, but it's up there. One of the stories in the ensemble piece is about an English writer, who falls for his Portuguese housekeeper. Unfortunately, he can't speak Portuguese and she can't speak English. Result? A lot of crossed wires as they try to communicate- unsuccessfully! And that's generally what happens when we don't get our message across effectively, be it written or spoken. We mean one thing, but the audience hears something else. In this piece, I'd like to share my number one preparation tip, to help you communicate effectively.

Before we write or say a word, we need to be clear about why we are communicating. There are all kinds of reasons that we communicate. To educate; to inform; to encourage or even to put someone else down. Whatever the reason, you need to know what it is, because it does 3 things.

It helps you to:
(a) be a more effective communicator;
(b) work out the points you need to make and
(c) pick the right approach.

I don't know what you think, but I don't think anyone sets out deliberately, to be a poor communicator. I think it's usually a combination of a lack of confidence and/or training. I'm sure we've all heard some really eloquent speakers and thought "I wish I could speak like that". The truth is, whilst we can't all be amazing public speakers, we can all get better, with some practice. I originally trained as a lawyer and one of the things we were taught was to "start with the end in mind". We needed to think about what we wanted the jury to believe, by the time we finished our case. That's a brilliant piece of advice and one that I follow, even to this day.

Following on from that: when you know why you are communicating, it helps you to identify your key points. There's really nothing worse than someone droning on and on, completely irrelevantly! Once you know why you are communicating, everything you say and do should support that. That way, you engage your audience, instead of causing them to mentally take a holiday during your talk. Think of it as putting yourself in the position where you are able to answer every question, your audience didn't know they had.

Finally, knowing why you are communicating, helps you to get your tone right. The best talks/ pieces are humorous, without necessarily having any jokes in them. There's nothing worse that watching a joke fall flat, because it was directed at the wrong audience. Leave the stand up comedy to the professionals is my advice. Use more or less humour depending on what you are saying, to whom and why.

A lot of people are nervous about public speaking or writing a speech and it can be pretty daunting. However, with some handy tips and some practice, I think we can all get better at it. I certainly owe a debt of gratitude to Mr Akash Karia, a wonderful public speaking coach. Who knows, you may even grow to love it!

Would you like to become a better communicator? Contact us by phone on +234 706 335 0864 or by email.


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