Page 102 - Great Communication Secrets of Great Leaders

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GREAT COMMUNICATION SECRETS OF GREAT LEADERS
Beginning: Tell the audience what you are going to say.

Middle: Explain what you are saying.

End: Remind the audience of what you have just said.

This is a formula, but it is one that works every time. The key to the out-
line process is organization, but the format of the outline is up to you. Some
folks like to jot notes on a page and proceed from there. Others, particularly
professional writers, like to flesh out a more formal outline. Here’s a typical
outline format:
Use Roman numerals (I, II, III) for your headings.
Use capital letters (A, B, C) for subheadings.
Use numbers (1, 2, 3) for content points.
The operative point in creating an outline is to keep your ideas in sections.
This way you can rearrange the order easily. The formal outline works well
here because while it contains detail, the sections of the outline are freestand-
ing and can be moved around easily.
STRUCTURE AN ARGUMENT
A leadership presentation or a well-run coaching session should be grounded
in reason and logic. The organization of the facts should support the argument
and flow to a logical conclusion. A good presentation will have good claims
(results) and effective reasons (facts). Aristotle identified the grouping
together of claims and reasons as an enthymeme, or logical proposition. 1
“Our prices are too high, so we had better lower them to attract new
customers.”

“Our vision is to be the leader in our industry, and our leadership will
enable us to set the standards for others to follow.”
“The competition in our segment is very strong, so we will need to
develop new and better products that better meet the needs of our
customers.”

Enthymemes are not difficult to formulate. British philosopher Stephen
Toulmin took Aristotle one step further by adding a third element to claims
and reasons, which he called warrants. A warrant is “the connection . . .
2
between your claim and your supporting reasons.” Think of the warrant as the
product of the claim and the reason.
Claim: We value diversity in our organization.
Reason: Our diversity is an important strength when it comes to under-
standing our customers.