9.3 – How to be clear

Learning Objectives

  • identify methods to engage an audience by being easy to understand

What is Clear Communication and why is it important?

Watch Clear communication for Presenters on YouTube (2 mins)

Video Source: Atwood, L. (2021, January 20). Clear communication for presenters [YouTube]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/OuGdj58bbmc

Tips for presenters:

  1. Think from the audience’s point of view:
    • What do they need to know?
    • What do they already know?
    • What interests them?
    • How much background info do they need?
  2. Avoid bland words such as really or very. Use strong words instead. For example: brilliant is stronger (and more interesting) than very smart
  3. Speak to the senses: use descriptive words that help your audience see, hear, feel, taste and smell what you’re talking about

Clear Communication – Test your Knowledge

Clear Communication – Test your Knowledge (Text version)
  1. What is clear communication?
    1. Speaking really loudly
    2. Making your message easy to understand
    3. Clear communication is easy for your audience to quickly understand
    4. Dumbing down your message
    5. Speaking really slowly
  2. Finish the sentence by inserting the following words into the right place: included, audience, respect, easy
    Clear communication: makes you (a)                        to understand, shows (b)                        for your (c)                        and helps everyone feel (d)                       .
  3. True or false? Clear communication includes gestures.
  4. True or false? Knowing your audience helps you give precise information
  5. True or false? When presenting you should speak formally and use big words to impress the audience.

Check your Answer: [1]


Activity Source: “How to be clear” In Business Presentation Skills by Lucinda Atwood & Christian Westin licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0.

Attribution & References

Except where otherwise noted, this chapter is adapted from ” How to be clear” In Business Presentation Skills by Lucinda Atwood & Christian Westin licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0.

    1. b) Clear communication is easy for your audience to quickly understand.
    2. a) easy, b) respect, c) audience, d) included.
    3. True. Clear communication includes gestures, writing, design and presentation slides.
    4. True. When you know your audience you can provide content that they want and need.
    5. False. Speak like you do in conversation and use simple, common words. Your audience will appreciate it.
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License

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Communication Essentials for College Copyright © 2022 by Jen Booth, Emily Cramer & Amanda Quibell, Georgian College is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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