In chapter 12, you built a foundation for effective communication in writing. Now it’s time to use those skills to conquer verbal communications. I’ve always found writing to be a bit easier because I can usually take my time with it. It’s not of-the-moment, right in someone’s face, as verbal communications are. But many of the lessons of written communications are fully applicable to verbal ones, making writing a great starting point. Let’s step up to speaking.
If you’ve really started working on your writing, your verbal communications will automatically become easier and less stressful. If you write like you speak, you’ll be teaching your brain to organize your thoughts for you, and it’ll do so in a way that makes it easier to speak as well.
If you have something formal to present verbally—maybe a team status meeting or some other fairly routine communication—start by writing yourself a script ahead of time. Read that script aloud to yourself ahead of time. Do multiple read-throughs, editing the script until the read-through feels effortless and natural.