Clear Writing, Speaking, Teaching
Today I’m following up on last week’s rant about the way bad thinking shows up immediately as bad writing or bad public speaking.
Folks sent a couple of interesting comments about that notion.
A. Many brilliant scientists are terrible public speakers, and their writing is so technical only their peers understand it. But there's nothing wrong with how they think!
B. Language is left-brained, and many expressive people are right-brained. They work better with mind-mapping, or pictures.
However, if you want to communicate your ideas, your work, or your product, you have to use language that your audience understands. I love pictures too, but they can’t do it all. And scientific illiteracy regularly appears as Terrible Trend of the Times.
So, you scientists and engineers, you right-brained artists, you who hate to write or to speak in public—how are you going to market all you know and everything you can do?
Here are five starting points:
1. What you say is important, but how you say it is essential -- if you want to communicate to anyone except people just like yourself.
5. Practice, practice, practice.
Folks sent a couple of interesting comments about that notion.
A. Many brilliant scientists are terrible public speakers, and their writing is so technical only their peers understand it. But there's nothing wrong with how they think!
However, if you want to communicate your ideas, your work, or your product, you have to use language that your audience understands. I love pictures too, but they can’t do it all. And scientific illiteracy regularly appears as Terrible Trend of the Times.
So, you scientists and engineers, you right-brained artists, you who hate to write or to speak in public—how are you going to market all you know and everything you can do?
Here are five starting points:
1. What you say is important, but how you say it is essential -- if you want to communicate to anyone except people just like yourself.
- If you only speak scientific jargon or a colorful patois, your audience is limited.
- If we can’t hear you because you mumble or speak in muted tones, your brilliance will be lost.
- At many conventions, academics happily listen to one another mumble their way through jargon-riddled speeches; then avidly read the conference proceedings.
- But how would you get this information to the general public? lawyers? high school students?
- That’s why you tell them what you’re going to tell ‘em; tell ‘em; and tell them what you told ‘em.
- Remember how you watched your teachers’ every twitch and repeated phrases? The more of those a teacher exhibited, the less you learned.
- On the other hand, imitating the “right” speaking or writing style never works.
5. Practice, practice, practice.
- When a speaker or writer makes it look easy, he or she has practiced. A lot. Usually in front of a teacher, who can catch the jargon, the mumbles, and the fuzzy organization.
Posted by Judith Pratt at 5/27/2009 11:36 AM 
Categories: uncategorized
Tags: public speaking communication writing and thinking
Categories: uncategorized
Tags: public speaking communication writing and thinking
Ms. Pratt: enjoyed reading your ideas, thank you.
I have found two things that always work with communications, quality and variety.
You are so right, knowing your audience is key. Much like “know thy self”. Once you subscribe to knowing your audience the knowing answers each question you may have about the right way to communicate to the audience.
You are also right about people can’t listen as fast as you can talk and the tried and true formula of telling them what you are going to tell them, tell them and telling them what you told the works every time. I have recently heard the CEO of IBM and the US Secretary of Commerce do just that in speeches I filmed.
My personal habits more often than not work against me; I am working each moment to habituate myself in a positive way.
Your practice, practice, practice advice is a strong one. I reported onto the set of the re-make OLD MAN AND THE SEA for NBC. I found the company on the beach getting ready for a set up by a dock. I looked out on the water and there was a boat with a man rowing back and forth. I went to the sound mixer and asked: who is that and he told me Anthony Quinn, he's learning to row, practicing, rehearsing. Ms. Pratt right then and there my career took a turn. I knew Mr. Quinn was working that hard that I must work 20 times harder with what I do - and have since that day on. I will often spend time rehearsing a shot while I look around and see others drinking coffee or just plain relaxing before a take. Not me, I'm with you and Mr. Quinn practice, practice, practice.
Thanks again for the up-lifting article.
Sincerely, Bruce Merwin
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Oh....this is really awesome and well said on topic which i really mean it...
by the way thanks for share.
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