- Level Up
- Posts
- How to be more Articulate
In partnership with
Have you ever listened to someone and been mesmerised by their words and reasoning, only to realise they weren’t even saying anything that useful? The way they spoke just captured your attention.
Being articulate and well-spoken is an underrated skill set and often the reason why some people succeed while others don’t. You could be incredibly smart, but unless you can translate your brain’s thoughts into well-crafted, articulate sentences, it’s hard to convince people of your ideas, point of view, or foster relationships.
For those who don’t know, articulation is the formation of clear and distinct speech.
Have you had instances in your professional life where people don’t really understand what you’re trying to say? You repeat yourself, but they still don’t get it. After the third repetition, you say, “Don’t worry about it, I’ll tell you later,” but later never comes.
My goal in this article is to help you avoid that situation. Although it will require some work on your part, don’t worry—articulation, speech, and communication skills are all learnable.
I went from reading off palm cards, unable to explain my thoughts to my peers, to speaking in front of thousands of people and now writing to over 50,000 readers. (And don’t worry, I read all the feedback and replies—I appreciate all the positive feedback and love for the previous email.)
Okay! Let’s get into it.
We scour 100+ sources daily
Read by CEOs, scientists, business owners and more
3.5 million subscribers
Pacing
I have two friends—let’s call them Jessica and Paul. Jessica speaks extremely slowly and often uses filler words. I find myself cutting her off or trying to get to her point before she does. As a friend, you want to be patient and let them speak, but in a work setting, it can be incredibly difficult to get past, especially for a manager who is just trying to finish the meeting. On the other hand, Paul speaks extremely quickly and doesn’t give pauses, leaving me no opportunity to contemplate what he just said. Pauses give me space to think—“That’s a great point” or “I disagree with that; let’s discuss it.”
Pacing is incredibly important. If you find yourself being interrupted or cut off before you finish your thought, it might be a sign that you speak too slowly. Obviously, if it’s one person, they may be being rude, but if this happens dozens of times with multiple people, it might be a sign. Conversely, if people tend to be unresponsive or struggle to follow what you’re saying, perhaps you need to slow down.
I heard Jimmy Carr say this and that before his performances he would listen to songs that are 92 BPM before going up. Give this a try and let me know if it works! Here is one for you.
Practice ELI5 explanations
ELI5 means "explain like I’m five."
One of the ways I realised I was a bad communicator was when I started tutoring high school kids. I did this right after graduating high school. Having topped the grade in many subjects and doing really well academically, I assumed I would be great at tutoring.
I was dead wrong. After my first class, I was almost fired. They took away all my classes except for one—biology, and that was only because they had no one else to teach it. I was hanging on by a thread.
Things that made sense in my head or came naturally to me had to be broken down into understandable chunks. So I practiced—over and over again—trying to explain concepts to my friends, siblings, anyone who would listen. After a while, I started to understand how to simplify my language and explain things step by step. Using simple language, breaking things down to first principles, I began to excel as a teacher. After two years, I had the most classes out of any tutor.
I used to believe the hallmark of intelligence was people who used big words and could sound really smart. Perhaps you do too. However, as I learned more and progressed in my career, I found that sometimes those people were very surface-level. If you ask them, “What does that mean?” or “What do you mean by that?” they suddenly start "umming" and "uhhing" or give you an equally confusing answer.
Explain gravity to me!
I’ve learned over time that true understanding or intelligence is being able to explain complicated topics or concepts in simple terms so that anyone can understand. It shows depth of knowledge more than someone who has memorised dense textbook definitions.
To improve your articulation of concepts, get used to explaining things simply and understanding them properly. Trust me—the people who matter will appreciate it, and those who are impressed by false intelligence don’t matter anyway.
Get Feedback
My friend, Rowan, was always someone I thought was a great speaker. He told me many years ago that it was an acquired skillset, which he developed through attending Toastmasters—a group where you can practice and improve your speeches. This rigorous process of A) spending time with people who are making speeches all the time and B) getting feedback every week helped him excel and become someone I now regard as great at articulating his thoughts and speech.
Aim to get feedback on your speech and give people permission to be as honest as they need to be. You could say, “I really want to improve the way I speak, and the more honest you can be with me, the more I can actually improve. You would be doing me a great service by being transparent rather than protecting my feelings.” This permission can really help people open up.
Mimic Others
A lot of my early communication gains came from emulating others in my life whom I thought were great communicators. Some of them I watched negotiate, and sometimes they recommended resources that were instrumental in their own success in communication. Humans are excellent mimics—it’s an evolutionary trait that helps us with social connections and relationships.
Here are some people I personally enjoy listening to: Shaan Puri, Simon Sinek and Will Stephen. (I’ve linked some interesting videos of them)
Resources I like
Hopefully these help as next steps in your journey to become a communication savant!
Cheers,
Ajay
What did you think of today's email? |