How to level up your Thinking Skills

It’s tempting to think that preparing papers and PowerPoints is a low-level skill mastered early in your career.

And in part that is true.

If you are a mid-level executive, you most likely have had some success in explaining how your project is progressing and seeking approval for more resources.

You will likely have improved on the examples your predecessor used to get there. You will also have added a few tips and tricks from the business writing and presentation skills training programs you have completed.

You may have engaged Board members in big decisions too.

But perhaps something is still niggling you?

You can see that you haven’t quite nailed ‘the magic’. Perhaps you are

• spending too much time out of hours preparing your communication
• gaining approvals only after answering endless (obvious?) questions from stakeholders
• being promoted more slowly than you would like?

At Clarity First we are confident that the missing ingredient is the ability to synthesise complex ideas into a single high-quality message.

Here's what that means:

1. Knowing your audience intimately so you can deliver a message that doesn't just explain what your data says, but what it means to that specific audience
2. Having a structured and repeatable process to work out what that message is (ie synthesise it)
3. Crafting a well-structured and engaging narrative that will get you the results you need as quickly as possible

Here's what this does not mean: Learning how to …

1. Write better prose
2. Create more beautiful PowerPoints
3. Feel more confident when you stand in front of a room

These things are a consequence of ‘nailing' your material and your message.

They are not the main game.

To extend your Thinking Skills, I invite you to explore the Clarity Hub. It's a fantastic resource for professionals like wanting to increase the impact of their communication.

It includes access to live workshops, tools and templates, a growing library of case studies, the incredible useful Pattern Picker and more.

>> Learn more here.

Warm regards,
Davina

PS – While away on sabbatical I caught up with two long-term clients in person. One of them thanked me. He said :

Lots of people say they do what you do. But in my experience, none of them actually deliver on that.

Your process works. I can do it every time and I get the results I need.

I wish I knew about it earlier in my career.
It would have made such a difference.