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This is a quick thought I had this afternoon that not many speaker coaches discuss …

I find ironic that the better we understand something we do a terrible job explaining it to someone else, whether it’s a friend, colleague or an audience, it’s like our familiarity with it makes us careless in describing it as we assume that they understand all to well.

A Hard Fact: Sometimes your audience nods in “acceptance” and “we understand you” and they HAVE NO CLUE! : )

As times goes on your skills and knowledge become second nature. Ambiguity creeps in when we least expect it. Meaning depends on context, tone, timing, personal experience, and reference points.

Back in the days when copier equipment was said to “burn copies,” an Army colonel hand-carried an important document to his new assistant and asked her to burn a copy.

When the paper did not resurface on his desk in a few days, he discovered that the assistant had recently transferred from a high-security division. She had had the document incinerated. Are you clear? Are you sure?

Run it by a friend who knows nothing of your topic and see whether it passes the “clarity test”.

If you’re ready to take you speaking business to the next level check out our coaching page.

Talk to you soon,

Alex