Tips for Being Clear

A well-turned phrase always involves an element of art. You don’t have to be an artist to be clear. The flowery phrase is nice; the clear phrase is a necessity. Part of the beauty of a clear phrase is how accurately it hits the bull’s-eye; that is, how precisely it conveys your meaning. If you assign people to complete tasks for you at work, your first task is to clearly tell the person what you want him or her to do. Easier said than done. Getting results in the workplace has less to do with charisma than with clarity. For best results, take your time. If something is worth saying, it’s worth saying clearly. Here are some hints for maximizing clarity.

1. Set the climate. Be sure you’re in a place conducive to concentration at a time when the assistant or co-worker can pay attention. Listen to your words as you set the tone. A harried manager may unwittingly say, “Now this is a simple, mindless task; that’s why I’m giving it to you.” Not very motivating.
2. Give the big picture. Describe the overall objectives. People need to see where their part fits into the whole to feel like they are a part of the loftier goal.
3. Describe the steps of the task. This is the meat of the delegation discussion. Sometimes these steps are already printed in an instruction or procedures manual. You still need to go over these steps, however briefly, to assure yourself that the employee is familiar with them. If the steps are not already written out, have the person write the list as you speak. This effort increases the probability of retention.
4. Cite resources available. Point out where to find other references on the task, if any. Resources include anyone who has completed the task before, a general book on the subject, or a specific manual for your office.
5. Invite questions. Even if you feel that you don’t have time to answer questions, the extra attention is worth the effort. Better to spend the time to explain a task up front than be unhappy with the results later. Invite questions with open-ended prompting such as, “What questions do you have?” not “You don’t have any questions, do you?”
6. Get the person to summarize his or her strategy for accomplishing the task. This step takes guts on your part; you risk being answered with a defensive “Do you think I’m stupid?” Use this sentence: “Call me compulsive — I need you to summarize how you will get this done.” When you take responsibility, you reduce defensiveness in the other person.
7. Agree on a date to follow up. The deadline depends on the complexity and value of the task. You may need time and practice to develop the fine art of following up without hovering. You greatly increase the chances that the person will meet the deadline if he or she helped to set it.

When you speak, ask “Did I make myself clear?” Ross Perot’s line during his oh-so-brief presidential campaign was, “Are you with me?” Such questions often help both parties proceed more productively. “Did I make myself clear?” may remind the other person to listen instead of lazily replying “yes.” If the point is critical, you may ask the other party to repeat the information back to you just to be sure that you are communicating effectively. Assure your counterpart that repeating vital information does not constitute an agreement — just clarification.

Tell ’em once, tell ’em twice, tell ’em again

Here’s the classic standby used by presenters and writers across the country:

• Tell ’em what you’re gonna tell ’em.
• Tell ’em.
• Tell ’em what you told ’em.

I use this one a lot because it drives a point home.

Outline your points

Another strategy is to list and number your points. The following is an example:
I recommend that you hire the consultant to create a plan that will
1. Increase sales
2. Improve morale
3. Generate productivity

P.R.E.P. for a presentation

The first way to get organized is by using the P.R.E.P technique. Use the approach: point, reason, example, point. It works because it’s so logical; you won’t leave anyone in the dust. Here’s an example:

• My point is: Exercise is energizing.
• The reason is: It gets your heart rate up.
• My example is: After at least 20 to 30 minutes of increased heart rate, you are more energized when you come out of the gym than when you went in.
• So, my point is: Exercise is energizing.

The P.R.E.P. approach can definitely help you organize your material. Now, read the paragraphs about P.R.E.P. again. Note how I explained this concept using the P.R.E.P. approach. Mark the appropriate sentences with the letters P.R.E.P. for each of the corresponding ideas. This formula works with any presentation, from a five-minute informal chat, to a thirty-minute formal speech using many examples. The P.R.E.P. approach is a great way to get organized and be clear.

What Being Clear Means

In many ways, clear communication is the other side of effective listening. Just as you cannot listen too well, there is no such thing as being too clear. You can be too blunt, too fast, and too slow. You can’t be too clear.
Being clear does not mean that you reveal your position at the earliest opportunity or that you lay out your limits as an opening salvo. Being clear simply means that when you speak, write, or otherwise communicate, your listener understands your intended message. Sounds simple enough. Why aren’t more people successful at it?
If you have any doubt about what being clear means, watch Patton, the wonderful biopic starring George C. Scott as Gen. George Patton. The opening scene is an unforgettable example of clarity. He is exhorting the troops to battle. In fact, he is whipping them up with an unforgettable call to duty. It’s not just the words — as clear as they are. Scott reinforces his words with his tone, his stance, and the huge American flag behind him. Everything in the scene is consistent with his message. It couldn’t be clearer. Although General Patton’s personality often got in his way, he was never accused of not being clear. The reason more people are not good communicators is that most people communicate from this point of view: What do I want to tell my listener? How am I going to appear? What are they going to think of me? Not effective. Your point of view must be from the listener’s side of the communication. Ask yourself these questions: What does my listener need to know? What information does my listener need to make a decision? What is my listener’s knowledge of the subject? First, you must be clear with yourself about what information you’re trying to get across. Then you must know who the listener is, what filters are in place, and how to get through those filters so you can be understood.

Pre-buyer’s remorse

If you experience buyer’s remorse before you even buy, stop everything. Ask yourself why you have reservations. What is the reason you don’t want to buy this boat? Is it that you’ll never use it? Or that you may move soon? Or perhaps because it’s not as big as your neighbor’s boat? Sometimes, you can resolve these reservations; other times, you can’t. Don’t go forward with a deal if your inner voice tells you not to.
Try to develop your ability to listen to your inner voice. It is the most important voice you can possibly hear. No one knows you better than you do. People who learn to hear their inner voice — unfiltered by reason or rationale — are always happier with their decisions (and thus less likely to experience buyer’s remorse) than those who are not able to do so.

Questionable deals

If your inner voice tells you that you don’t want to make a deal, stop the negotiation.
Relax. Examine that message. Either your subconscious will send you are more detailed message, or your conscious mind will work it out logically.
Heed any strong messages that a given course of action is wise or unwise.Mold your conduct to that message. You don’t have to stand up in the middle of a meeting and announce to the assembly that your inner voice is telling you that the discussions are over. In fact, you may decide to keep the source of your decision to yourself. You should heed the message and begin to concentrate on closing the discussion. Wrap up the deal. Use the message without necessarily announcing it to the room.

Understanding shady characters

Although hardly anyone states it so bluntly, one thing you want to know about the other party in a negotiation is whether you can trust the information that person gives you. What is this person’s reputation for honesty and accuracy?
If you are trying to negotiate efficiently, you must find out the general trustworthiness
of the assertions from the other side.
Sometimes you hear that someone is not dishonest, just ignorant, inefficient,or inexperienced. These qualities may sound better than dishonesty, but theyhave the same consequence to you. As a negotiator, you can’t afford to blindlyaccept anything that such a person says to you.
A different but highly related issue is whether you can trust the client representedby the person with whom you are negotiating. Even if you trust thenegotiator, you may feel that you need to be extra-careful in dealing with theparty on the other side of the negotiating table.
The best advice I can offer is not to do business with a person you don’t trust.No lawyer in the world can protect you from someone determined to do youin, cheat you, or steal from you. No cop or security system in the world canprotect your house from a sufficiently determined thief. President Kennedyonce prophetically observed, “There is no Secret Service agent who canguarantee a president’s life, if someone is willing to give their own life inexchange.”
Sometimes you are forced to do business with someone you don’t trust. Insuch a case, be sure to focus on the parts of the contract that will protectyou if something goes wrong. Decide where a lawsuit would be filed and inwhich courts. Your lawyer can be a big help here. Make provisions for whenand how you can check the books for accuracy. In such a case, you must preparea much more detailed contract than you normally would.
Having clauses that protect you is always important in case you come tohonest differences that you did not anticipate. Such clauses are the specialprovince of an experienced attorney. For example, if someone is to pay youmoney under a contract, you want a fast and certain way to collect in case ofdefault. The negotiator who does not consider this aspect of the deal is notdoing a good job. Negotiating for big payments is futile if the payments are,as a practical matter, uncollectible. You may want to insist that all fundsunder negotiation be held in a special account until the contract is finalized.
If you want to include clauses to protect yourself but can’t get the otherparty to agree, you must decide whether you want to do business with thisperson. Listen carefully to why the other party is not willing to provide certainmechanisms that put your mind at ease about payment. If that personinsists on maintaining an unfair out, think twice before entering into theagreement. Be clear in expressing the importance of these provisions and
why you must have them.
If everything else seems good about a deal, walking away based on thesepoints can be difficult. The other side knows that and will often turn the issue into a trust test: “If you trust me, you’ll make this deal with me.” Look such a person right in the eye and say, “I trust you well enough to enter this deal.
But I don’t know what good or bad fortune is going to visit you over the next year while I need steady payments. You may quit the company (or sell your business). You may get killed. I just don’t know what the future holds.”

Hearing two voices? You’re not crazy

Be assured that you don’t have two different inner voices inside you. You only have one of these phenomenal subconscious centers. When people talk about conflicting voices within themselves, they are frequently experiencing their conscious mind testing the solution provided by the subconscious mind. Almost without exception, the solution provided by the subconscious part of the mind survives this testing, but the solution provided by the conscious part of the mind is easier to rationalize and explain. The conscious thought process can be reduced to words.
Much of the “testing” of what is provided byyour subconscious is your memory of voicesfrom your childhood, mostly from your mother orfather. Your inner voice tells you to go forth. Aparental voice, indelibly etched in your memory,says, “Don’t do that. That is dangerous. You willfail.” As adults, we need to recognize the playof memory messages. If you are hearing thoseold parental warnings, look skyward and say,“It’s okay. I can do it. And if I fail, that’s okay, too.I need to try — for me.”If the owner of that parental voice is still alive,look skyward anyway. Don’t act out this conversationwith the real person. The last thingyou need is a protracted discussion with a dubiouscritic at just the time you need to gather upyour courage and embark on a new adventure.Inner critics aren’t all bad. Having an inner criticis good when you need that kind of feedback.Decide between your inner voice and your innercritic and do what is right for you.