People engage in multiple communication actions within short timeframes, requiring nimbleness and posing challenges.
An informal poll found people engage in up to five different communication actions in a typical 15-minute stretch.
Communication actions include answering questions, initiating small talk, introducing people, and providing feedback.
Managing different communication types with social expectations of appropriateness and efficiency can be daunting.
Leveraging communication structures is key to managing diverse communication types.
Communication structures serve as scaffolding for messages, providing easy starting points, transitions, and clear endings.
Communication structures help speakers to be concise and relevant in their messages.
Research evidence indicates that structured information is more easily processed and remembered by audiences.
The "What? So what? Now what?" structure is a logical and clear communication tool, supreme in applicability and simplicity.
The "What?" component requires defining or describing key ideas or arguments in a clear, concise manner.
Define key ideas devoid of jargon and flourishes to maximize fidelity.
The "So what?" component focuses on the relevance of ideas or arguments to the audience's perspective.
Maximizing fidelity and remembering is more about what the audience needs to hear than what the speaker wants to say.
Speakers should consider "The bottom line for you (my audience) is..." when crafting this section.
The "Now what?" component highlights the desired thoughts, feelings, and actions for the audience.
Phrase the desired outcomes clearly and directly to reduce ambiguity.
Tone directly impacts the audience's perception of both the speaker and the message.
The structure affords cognitive bandwidth by providing a method for conveying messages, allowing focus on specific content.
The structure can be applied to answer questions, such as in a job interview.
For "Why are you qualified?", state 12 years of customer-facing experience addressing system migrations and new processes.
Explain these experiences provide high-quality results for customers and streamline deployment processes.
Offer to have qualifications discussed with former clients.
This structure is useful for providing constructive feedback, such as to a colleague who missed a deadline.
State the colleague's report was not submitted within the agreed-upon timeframe.
Explain this puts them at a disadvantage for practice and might jeopardize the client meeting.
Request completion of the report by tomorrow morning, offering assistance.
The structure helps make introductions clear and set expectations.
The structure can be used to introduce a new product version effectively.
Introduce the latest product version with usability enhancements and improved speed.
Explain clients can now more easily complete tasks and save time and money.
Instruct attendees to install the product today after the conference session.
The structure can be applied to introduce a speaker or individual.
Introduce Dr. Jonas Smith, discussing her insights into game theory.
Her work has changed how people make daily decisions, ensuring the audience will think differently.
Invite the audience to join in welcoming Dr. Smith.
The structure aids in engaging and sustaining initial small talk conversations.
Ask what the target knows about the latest attempt to reduce energy consumption.
Ask why the target thinks it is so important to reduce energy.
Ask what the speaker can do to help reduce personal energy use.
People engage in multiple communication actions within short timeframes, requiring nimbleness and posing challenges.
An informal poll found people engage in up to five different communication actions in a typical 15-minute stretch.
Communication actions include answering questions, initiating small talk, introducing people, and providing feedback.
Managing different communication types with social expectations of appropriateness and efficiency can be daunting.
Leveraging communication structures is key to managing diverse communication types.
Communication structures serve as scaffolding for messages, providing easy starting points, transitions, and clear endings.
Communication structures help speakers to be concise and relevant in their messages.
Research evidence indicates that structured information is more easily processed and remembered by audiences.
The "What? So what? Now what?" structure is a logical and clear communication tool, supreme in applicability and simplicity.
The "What?" component requires defining or describing key ideas or arguments in a clear, concise manner.
Define key ideas devoid of jargon and flourishes to maximize fidelity.
The "So what?" component focuses on the relevance of ideas or arguments to the audience's perspective.
Maximizing fidelity and remembering is more about what the audience needs to hear than what the speaker wants to say.
Speakers should consider "The bottom line for you (my audience) is..." when crafting this section.
The "Now what?" component highlights the desired thoughts, feelings, and actions for the audience.
Phrase the desired outcomes clearly and directly to reduce ambiguity.
Tone directly impacts the audience's perception of both the speaker and the message.
The structure affords cognitive bandwidth by providing a method for conveying messages, allowing focus on specific content.
The structure can be applied to answer questions, such as in a job interview.
For "Why are you qualified?", state 12 years of customer-facing experience addressing system migrations and new processes.
Explain these experiences provide high-quality results for customers and streamline deployment processes.
Offer to have qualifications discussed with former clients.
This structure is useful for providing constructive feedback, such as to a colleague who missed a deadline.
State the colleague's report was not submitted within the agreed-upon timeframe.
Explain this puts them at a disadvantage for practice and might jeopardize the client meeting.
Request completion of the report by tomorrow morning, offering assistance.
The structure helps make introductions clear and set expectations.
The structure can be used to introduce a new product version effectively.
Introduce the latest product version with usability enhancements and improved speed.
Explain clients can now more easily complete tasks and save time and money.
Instruct attendees to install the product today after the conference session.
The structure can be applied to introduce a speaker or individual.
Introduce Dr. Jonas Smith, discussing her insights into game theory.
Her work has changed how people make daily decisions, ensuring the audience will think differently.
Invite the audience to join in welcoming Dr. Smith.
The structure aids in engaging and sustaining initial small talk conversations.
Ask what the target knows about the latest attempt to reduce energy consumption.
Ask why the target thinks it is so important to reduce energy.
Ask what the speaker can do to help reduce personal energy use.