Think Faster, Talk Smarter

Key Takeaways

Our CEO and Founder, Jessica Chen, recently hosted a Soulcast Media | LIVE event on LinkedIn where she interviewed the Author and Podcast Host of 'Think Faster, Talk Smarter,' Matt Abrahams. They shared tips and personal stories about how to be an efficient and smart communicator.

Here are the takeaways for VIP Comm Pass members:

• If you want to be a better communicator, you have to think about how being able to communicate more effectively will benefit you. The desire and motivation play a role in becoming a better communicator.
• Finding avenues to help you become a better communicator is important. You can listen to podcasts, read books, take courses at a local community college, or find online opportunities.
• The only way we get better at communication is the way we get better at everything - repetition, reflection, and feedback.
• You have to put yourself out there and find opportunities to help you become a better communicator.
• One way to reflect is to record yourself giving a presentation. When you do this, you can listen to see what you sounded like, the good and the things you can improve upon.
• Having a trusted person who can give you feedback helps tremendously. This can be someone on your team or in your close circle of friends and family.
• When it comes to presentation anxiety, it really comes down to two things, symptoms and sources. The symptoms are what we physiologically experience, and sources are the things that initiate and exacerbate the anxiety. For example, when your heart rate increases and you start to get anxious, the best thing to do is to take a deep breath and slowly exhale.

• Many of us are made nervous by the goal we are trying to achieve, like giving a good presentation. To relieve the sources of our anxiety, we need to get into the present moment, and we can do this by doing something physical - like taking a walk or talking with people in the audience.
• You need to remember the value you add and eliminate the negative self-talk or mental chatter that goes on in your head. This will help empower you when you go to speak with someone spontaneously or in a presentation.
• Most of the communication you do in your personal and professional life is spontaneous.
• One thing you can do to improve your spontaneous communications is to focus on your audience and the connection you have with them.
• When faced with a conversation you didn't expect, you can change your mindset to think of it as an opportunity rather than something you dread.
• What can help you get through spontaneous speaking situations is structure. 
• Big things happen during small talk. You can learn more about someone, network, and connect with others.
• You can reframe the way you think about small talk - instead of wanting to be interesting, be interested.
• If you use filler words, it can distract from your message, and you will lose people's attention.
• People who are great communicators are clear and concise.
• One structure to be a better communicator is to think about three questions - What? So what? Now what? What is the information you're sharing or the update. The so what, is why is it important to your audience? When you think about what is important to your audience, it makes your message more concise and focused. And then now what is what comes next?
• Paraphrasing what someone else said and then commenting on it can help you speak up in a meeting.
• Asking questions can also help you get into a conversation and speak up.
• Leading with an emotion can also get the attention focused on you and help you speak up.

WATCH THE SHOW

*As a VIP Communications Pass holder, you get access to these show notes we’ve organized for you, so you’ll always remember what was shared. No worries if you didn’t take down notes. This is for you to keep!*