Book Signing Event at Hackney
Library
Barton College, Wilson, NC
The book, Listen. Write. Present.
contains over 245 communication tips. At a recent book signing at Barton
College, we only had 30 minutes to speak, so we chose the most relevant tips
for that audience. Now we’d like to share them with you:
1. Adapt to the audience. This tip applies to listening and responding
when communicating with others, writing a cover letter, or presenting to a
small group. What does your audience really want to know?
2. Narrow the focus of your topic. It
can be hard to distill your content into one main point. Yet Twitter, texting,
and common sense show us that others want only what’s relevant, not content
overload.
3. Practice. Plan. Rehearse. Call it
whatever you want...just make sure you do it! Practicing what you want to say
prevents rambling, planning what you are going to write helps sort and
prioritize information, and rehearsing a presentation takes away the jitters
and helps you connect with your audience.
4. Give the punch line first. In
anything you communicate, make sure you tell the listener, reader, or audience
your main point BEFORE you offer supporting evidence or background information.
For example, if you are pitching an idea to a group, plug the idea first, and then
offer specific support: “I’d like to share three reasons why adopting ABC
policy will benefit our group.”
5. Perfect your elevator pitch. This snapshot
is the 30-second explanation of who you are or what you do or how you’ll fit
into the organization. This skill is essential for effective job interviews.
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