Matt Abrahams

And that connection comes from your, as the communicator, your mindset. It's about me connecting to you. But it's also me observing what's going on and adjusting and adapting as needed. So if you look perplexed or you look engaged, I adjust and adapt my communication. So what we're having in that moment is immediate communication.

And that's what gives that feeling that leads to trust and connection. So you need to be prepared in practice so you can actually be present. If you're in your head trying to figure out what the heck I'm going to say next, that pulls you away. But if you're too over-rehearsed, then that also gets in the way. So it's tricky, but you can be over-practiced and over-polished for sure. Yeah.

And that's what gives that feeling that leads to trust and connection. So you need to be prepared in practice so you can actually be present. If you're in your head trying to figure out what the heck I'm going to say next, that pulls you away. But if you're too over-rehearsed, then that also gets in the way. So it's tricky, but you can be over-practiced and over-polished for sure. Yeah.

And that's what gives that feeling that leads to trust and connection. So you need to be prepared in practice so you can actually be present. If you're in your head trying to figure out what the heck I'm going to say next, that pulls you away. But if you're too over-rehearsed, then that also gets in the way. So it's tricky, but you can be over-practiced and over-polished for sure. Yeah.

Yeah, you say precise. I say concise in many ways. I think they're synonymous. I talk a lot about concision just in the way you're talking about precision. So a couple of suggestions. One, my mother has this great advice and all of us, I think, should live by this advice. Tell the time, don't build the clock.

Yeah, you say precise. I say concise in many ways. I think they're synonymous. I talk a lot about concision just in the way you're talking about precision. So a couple of suggestions. One, my mother has this great advice and all of us, I think, should live by this advice. Tell the time, don't build the clock.

Yeah, you say precise. I say concise in many ways. I think they're synonymous. I talk a lot about concision just in the way you're talking about precision. So a couple of suggestions. One, my mother has this great advice and all of us, I think, should live by this advice. Tell the time, don't build the clock.

Many of us, when we communicate, we take our audiences on the journey of our discovery of what we're thinking about and want to say as we're saying it. We say too much. So how do you focus? Couple things. One, you think about what's most relevant to your audience. If you focus on their relevance, that'll help you focus your message.

Many of us, when we communicate, we take our audiences on the journey of our discovery of what we're thinking about and want to say as we're saying it. We say too much. So how do you focus? Couple things. One, you think about what's most relevant to your audience. If you focus on their relevance, that'll help you focus your message.

Many of us, when we communicate, we take our audiences on the journey of our discovery of what we're thinking about and want to say as we're saying it. We say too much. So how do you focus? Couple things. One, you think about what's most relevant to your audience. If you focus on their relevance, that'll help you focus your message.

Second, I believe all high-stakes communication, I don't care if it's one-on-one, big presentation, written, spoken, does not matter, must be goal-driven. A goal has three parts, information, emotion, and action. So I think to myself, what do I want them to know? How do I want them to feel? And what do I want them to do? Know, feel, do. And that, again, helps me focus.

Second, I believe all high-stakes communication, I don't care if it's one-on-one, big presentation, written, spoken, does not matter, must be goal-driven. A goal has three parts, information, emotion, and action. So I think to myself, what do I want them to know? How do I want them to feel? And what do I want them to do? Know, feel, do. And that, again, helps me focus.

Second, I believe all high-stakes communication, I don't care if it's one-on-one, big presentation, written, spoken, does not matter, must be goal-driven. A goal has three parts, information, emotion, and action. So I think to myself, what do I want them to know? How do I want them to feel? And what do I want them to do? Know, feel, do. And that, again, helps me focus.

So if I take the time to think about what's relevant to the audience, have a clear goal, and then leverage a structure, all of those help me be more concise, precise, and accessible. And those are three key ingredients to being good at communicating.

So if I take the time to think about what's relevant to the audience, have a clear goal, and then leverage a structure, all of those help me be more concise, precise, and accessible. And those are three key ingredients to being good at communicating.

So if I take the time to think about what's relevant to the audience, have a clear goal, and then leverage a structure, all of those help me be more concise, precise, and accessible. And those are three key ingredients to being good at communicating.

Well, I ask anybody to think about a recent meeting that they've been in where somebody waxed poetic about the deep history of something before they talked about what it was that they actually need people to do or what they're currently building. That's a great example. Many people in technology, many faculty members, many of my peers, not to throw them under the bus,

Well, I ask anybody to think about a recent meeting that they've been in where somebody waxed poetic about the deep history of something before they talked about what it was that they actually need people to do or what they're currently building. That's a great example. Many people in technology, many faculty members, many of my peers, not to throw them under the bus,

Well, I ask anybody to think about a recent meeting that they've been in where somebody waxed poetic about the deep history of something before they talked about what it was that they actually need people to do or what they're currently building. That's a great example. Many people in technology, many faculty members, many of my peers, not to throw them under the bus,

We say more than we need to because we are trying to build our credibility, demonstrate we know our stuff inside and out. But what's important for the audience is just the bottom line, telling the time. So in the military, they have this notion of bluff, bottom line up front. Tell us what's important. And if people want to learn more or know more, they're going to ask questions.