Make Your Point!:Speak clearly and concisely anyplace anytime.

by Kevin Carroll

The top ten communication roadblocks As we head down the home stretch, it’s a good idea to recap the top ten things that keep us from speaking clearly and concisely anyplace anytime. 1. We’re not certain in our own minds what our point is before we start to speak. Therefore we tend to talk in circles and our listener gets confused. 2. We haven’t used THE DIAMOND structure when we speak. Therefore our ideas run together and our listener finds it difficult to track with us. 3. We don’t point out what the benefits are to the listener. Therefore the listener never really understands the value of what we have to say. 4. We talk too much and go off on tangents. Therefore the other person becomes bored and loses interest. 5. We use too much bizspeak or technical jargon. Therefore the listener gets lost trying to figure out what we’re saying. 6. We give little or no eye contact. Therefore the other person isn’t fully engaged in the conversation and we don’t connect with them. 7. We speak with low energy or in a monotone. Therefore we don’t grab the other person’s attention and their thoughts start to wander. 8. We don’t add much facial expression to what we’re saying. Therefore we’re not as interesting to listen to and our listener turns us off. 9. We speak too quickly. Therefore the other person can’t follow us or might feel like they’re being talked into something. 10. We haven’t added attention getters, like analogies and stories, to what we’re saying. Therefore our message bec...