Effective Communication: Making Yourself Memorable and Quotable
By Stacey Hanke (Read about her here.)
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“They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel.” Carl W. Buechner
Have you ever attended a comedy club where the comedians had you laughing constantly? When the lights come on, you were wishing for more because you had a great time and the comedians made you feel good.
Have you ever participated in a meeting, conference call, presentation, or face-to-face conversation feeling the complete opposite? You feel like time isn’t moving. You can’t wait to walk away and you’re bored to tears. Because the speaker is ineffective, you don’t remember the key points or ideas and there is nothing to quote.
Being memorable and quotable requires you to:
• Grab and keep the attention of listeners.
• Be clear, concise and to the point.
• Communicate a message that meets your listener’s expectations.
• Manage the amount of information you share.
Whether you are delivering a presentation, facilitating a meeting of having a face-to-face conversation, you’re objective is to influence action. When you are memorable and quotable, your listeners will remember more of your message for a longer length of time. As a result, you’ll have more impact and influence on them.
Most of us never get close to being memorable and quotable because we frustrate our listeners. We communicate too much information and our message imparts information overload. Our listeners become frustrated because they begin to feel overwhelmed, confused or exhausted. In most cases, their reaction is to stop listening. They may be nodding their heads, giving you the impression they’re listening, but in reality you have filled their cup to capacity and it is now overflowing.
To make sure your listeners remember and retain the information you are communicating, create your content following “The Rule of Three,” which states that the human mind remembers in groups of three. This explains why we remember our phone numbers and Social Security numbers. When you offer more than three key points, your listeners are busy trying to remember each key point; they walk away with none of them. Keeping your key points to three or less will also help you remember what you came to communicate.
Identify up to three key points that will support your objective, meet your listener’s expectations and influence them to take action. Your key points serve as a road map that provides direction. Key points establish the framework for the action you want your listeners to take as a result of your message.
Always state your most important key point first. I know this sounds obvious, yet how many times have you saved the best for last? If you begin to run out of time, you end up racing through your most important key point, throwing it at your listeners and hoping they will cling to the idea. Often they will miss it!
When you state your most important key point first, you don’t need to worry about running out of time and failing to communicate a critical piece to your message. It’s not a make or break if you don’t have time to communicate your least important key point. Remember, your listeners don’t know what your key points are until you share them.
Leave your listener wanting more. You’ll have more impact on your listeners when you follow the rule of three because they will be able to make a decision to take action. When they walk away feeling frustrated, they end up with nothing!
The more memorable your message becomes, the more quotable you will be. Apply the following elements to your message to make it easier for your listeners to quote you.
• Use stories and examples relating to the experiences of your listeners.
• Speak their language. What phrases or acronyms do they use that you can apply to your message?
• Invite your listeners to connect, engage and interact with you. Ask them questions, have them repeat key take-aways, or restate your key take-aways at least three times throughout your message.
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On our website, WomensMedia you should read this: Add Confidence and Credibility to Your Presentations
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