How to Sound Smarter When You Communicate

Clear communication is the lifeblood of successful personal and professional relationships. It unlocks understanding, drives innovation, and fosters collaboration and trust. When we communicate clearly, we're not just exchanging information, we're building bridges of comprehension that can lead to innovative outcomes. In today's fast-paced, interconnected world, the ability to articulate ideas succinctly and persuasively is more crucial than ever. Whether you're pitching a groundbreaking idea to investors, leading a team through a complex project, or simply trying to connect with a loved one, your success hinges on your ability to convey your thoughts with clarity and impact.

Often, however, many of us out of nervousness or unknowing, choose to stay silent, rather than share. We are held back by a variety of factors: Fear of public speaking, lack of confidence, or uncertainty about how to craft a meaningful message. The good news is that these barriers are not insurmountable.

Effective communication has never been more pressing. In our digital age, where attention is our most precious commodity—our attention spans are shrinking and the modern social media landscape has led to information overload—the ability to cut through the noise and deliver a clear, compelling message is a superpower. Whether you're communicating virtually or in person, mastering the art of communication can set you apart in your career, enhance your relationships, and help you achieve your goals more efficiently. By focusing on this critical skill, we're not just improving our individual abilities—we're contributing to a world where ideas flow more freely, misunderstandings are minimized, and collective progress is accelerated. We must move beyond silence to make a difference and have our ideas heard.

When silence is not an option, how can we communicate clearly, succinctly, and intelligently? The answer lies in a framework I teach my Stanford Graduate School of Business MBA students which I call the “Five P’s.” This approach increases relevance, attention, and engagement while providing focus and structure, resulting in a memorable experience for the audience. 

Premise: Engage your audience

Professional communication doesn’t have to be devoid of personality and excitement. In fact, I suggest beginning your communication like an action movie.

In action movies, there’s often an explosion within the first few minutes of a two-hour film. While you don’t have to start off in a blaze of pyrotechnic glory, you can jump right into the action to capture attention and incite curiosity. Ask an insightful question, tell a story, take a poll, provide an intriguing statistic, chart, or image. This type of attention-grabbing start allows you to lay out your overall premise in a clear, memorable manner. You want to gather your audience’s attention and then let them know at a high level where you are going to take them.

The burden is on you to draw your audience in and away from their devices and distractions. By avoiding the expected “Hi, my name is… and today I’m going to talk about…,” you and your message will stand out and be more effective. 

For instance, you may want to start by saying something like “In the last two weeks, we lost three major deals, because of one missing feature we can easily add to the product.” A strong, provocative statement like this compels your audience to attend to your point and be moved to act.

Purpose: Define your goal

Now that you’ve established your enticing premise, the next step is to define your purpose. Your purpose captures your goals and intentions and should specify what you want your audience to know, feel, and do.

Clearly naming your purpose helps you and your audience. Your audience now knows what to specifically expect, and you have given yourself a direction that will help you focus and prioritize the information you’ll convey. 

An example of a clear purpose is: “We’re losing market share, but with our new plan, we have the means to do something about it. We must immediately reprioritize our feature set for our next release.” 

Prior to defining your Purpose, there are a few things to consider. First, ask yourself, what is your audience’s knowledge level about your content? What are their likely attitudes toward your topic? And what might be their areas of resistance, hesitation, or concern? Beyond reflection, you can use internet searches, surveys, and interviews in order to tailor your goal and content to be more targeted and relevant.

Plan: Provide a structure

Once your premise and purpose are defined, the next step is to provide a plan. Your plan will provide structure and roadmap for your communication journey to set your audience’s expectations. For example, you can set an agenda or you can itemize a set of questions you intend to answer. Like a good tour guide, defining where you’ll be going (and by default, where you’re not going) allows your audience to relax, focus, and engage more fully, knowing what’s ahead. 

There are a myriad of frameworks which you can use to layout your message such as the problem-solution-benefit framework, the past-present-future framework, and the situation-task-analysis-results framework. My favorite structure is to frame your speech around three simple questions: What? So what? And now what?

This structure is a powerful framework for effectively communicating ideas, their significance, and actionable next steps. First, you outline your key information—the “what”—by addressing the issue at hand. For example, “we have identified a decline in our sales performance over the last quarter.” You immediately follow up with the "so what,” where you explain the relevance or importance of this information. For example, you might say, “highlighting that this drop indicates we may be losing touch with our customer preferences, thus risking our market position.” Finally, in the "now what” section, you detail the actionable steps you want your audience to take moving forward. In this case, you might say, “we should enhance our product features based on customer feedback and increase our marketing efforts to re-engage our audience.” 

By following this structured approach, you can more effectively convey your message and guide our audience toward the necessary actions needed for improvement. Additionally, leveraging a logical structure helps you connect your ideas together and builds in strong transitions that keep your audience connected to your material. You needn’t simply say “so” or “next” every time you move to another point.

Presence: Focus on how you communicate

Your premise, purpose, and plan all benefit the content of what you are communicating by grabbing your audience’s attention and making your content relevant. However, you need to also focus on the way you communicate. This is where presence comes in. When speaking, you must consider how you use your body and voice to demonstrate your confidence and conviction while inviting your audience to listen. 

To improve your presence you should aim for your posture to be big, balanced, and still. This does not mean standing or sitting rigidly. Rather, simply place your feet firmly on the floor, facing parallel under your shoulders (not pointing out at an angle like a penguin or duck). Pull your shoulder blades down to broaden your shoulders and avoid hunching or leaning. Vocally, vary your volume and rate. Human beings habituate to anything that stays the same or is patterned. By invoking some variation, you command your audience’s attention.

When you are communicating with others in a virtual setting there are other factors to consider. First, be sure to fill half the screen with your body. Many people sit far away from the camera and we can’t see facial expressions. Second, raise your camera up so it is eye level. Too many people use laptops that are below their chins and result in unflattering camera angles. Finally, invest in good lighting so you don’t look like you are in the Witness Protection Program.

Having a calm, confident, compelling presence helps any presenter hit the mark.

Priming: A bonus brilliance boost 

Beyond these four P’s, there is a bonus P which can help you sound smarter: prime. You can prepare your audience by connecting with them beforehand via emails and calendar invites. When you do so, be sure to send documents and videos you would like them to spend time with prior. You can also pose questions and challenges to your audience in advance to build excitement and curiosity. By strategically using pre-event announcements and materials, you can lay the groundwork for greater engagement.

Whether you’re presenting in a boardroom, sharing your ideas in a family room, or contributing in an online meeting, premise, purpose, plan, presence, and prime can help you ensure that your audience will pay attention, is ready to absorb your message, and that you’ve set yourself apart with your preparation. As a result, you can start your communication with confidence and clarity, knowing you’ve created the foundation for a positive, engaging experience that is foolproof—and that you will sound smarter.

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