The 1 Sentence That Will Make You a More Effective Speaker Every Time
"Clear writing is clear thinking." My 10th grade English teacher shared that morsel of wisdom once as I was slogging through a 20-page term paper with no idea where I was going or how to make the points I wanted to make; every word I wrote led me further down a rabbit hole of rambling sentences, incomplete thoughts, and disjointed ideas. It felt like I was writing in circles.
If clear writing was clear thinking, then my thinking was as clear as mud. The problem wasn't that I couldn't put words to paper. The problem was I couldn't get those words to make sense. That's because I wasn't clear on my objective. I was trying to say too much and, as result, I was saying nothing.
Many speakers feel this way when they write speeches. They have too many ideas competing for attention and too many themes pulling them in different directions. There's no through-line to hold their arguments together and, so, their content feels jumbled and confused.
What's more, they lack a big idea -- a powerful insight, perspective, or thought that serves as the backbone of their presentation; the big idea is the spine that holds everything up. In the words of TED curator Chris Anderson, the big idea is a "gift" transferred from the speaker's mind to the audience by way of a compelling talk. It's what separates a memorable speech from a mediocre one.
"Anyone who has an idea worth sharing is capable of giving a powerful talk," Anderson writes in his book, TED Talks: The Official Guide to Public Speaking . "The only thing that truly matters in public speaking is not confidence, stage presence, or smooth talking. It's having something worth saying."
Without a big idea to light the way, you'll wander aimlessly through draft after draft of your speech until, eventually, you run out of steam; you'll become so tired of going in circles you'll simply want to give up or, worse, you'll decide to "wing it." You'll jot down some notes, throw together a few slides, slap on a title, and call it a presentation. Why shortchange yourself like that? Why not give yourself the chance to create something worth saying?
By distilling your thoughts into one succinct takeaway -- your big idea -- you can communicate with power and precision. And your audiences will walk away feeling satisfied and excited, instead of bleary-eyed and confused. Here's one simple trick to help you cut through the distractions and get to the heart of your message:
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I like writing but have trouble with coming up with a subject to write about. We've all been told to write what you know...but what if you don't know anything?
Writing takes time and thought so don't waste words
Then write about not knowing anything.......could be quite humorous. I wrote one article a month for our online publication for 7 years, plus at least 1 article for each of our 2 printed publications, plus some other articles on specific items of interest to the organization I served. I also wrote my own speeches (though I always bounced them off a trusted friend). I never repeated an article. I was taught to write as I speak, in other words, like I'm sitting in a room informally talking with you or a group. As a career member of the Air Force, I also learned public speaking, building and presenting briefings (The ABCs: Accuracy, Brevity, Clarity). If you have an objective, break it down into points, introduce your objective, use the points as arguments to get to the objective, then use a conclusion as your summation.
(The ABCs: Accuracy, Brevity, Clarity).
Ahh.. yes... the 4-7 minute presentation or speech. Something I learned quite well in NCO Leadership School. And something I liked about Father Bob who was also a Major in the Chaplain Service...his homilies were short