I believe in what I call “the success formula.” We all know people who are smart but can’t communicate their knowledge effectively. They often get stuck in their careers because their manager says, “He is really smart, but I can’t put him in front of the client because he will ramble on and on,” or “She really knows this product, but I can’t have her represent us at the conference or tradeshow because she gets too nervous about presenting.”
Your goal is to avoid both of
these roadblocks and instead, have both knowledge and communication
skills. If you have that rare
combination, you will stand out and be successful. Everything else will matter less (where you came
from, your educational background, etc.) because your brand will be built
around the fact that you know your content and can communicate it well, even to
people who are not experts.
How do you do this?
Build your competence
Become the go-to person for your
subject or service. What do you know better than anybody else? You want people
to say, “I have a question about the new software so I’ve got to ask Nancy” or
“If you need to know about that customer, ask Brendon.”
If you build your expertise and
become knowledgeable about your topic, people will come to you for your
expertise and it will become part of your professional brand.
Build your communication
skills
In addition to building your
competence, you also have to develop the ability to communicate your expertise
to others. The more you know, often the
harder it is to be concise because there is so much that you could share with
people—and it’s often too much for them to absorb. Instead, determine what they need to know
rather than telling them everything you know.
Think in terms of summarizing
and messaging. Building on all the data,
research and experience you have, what is the over overall one-sentence
summary? Start there and then give details as needed, but make sure you have a clear
message that ties all your details together.
It’s important to remember the
old adage, “less is more.” The worst thing you can do is to ramble on and on
and go over your time limit. When you go
over your time limit, you show disrespect to the audience and come across as
unprepared (“I didn’t spend enough time figuring out what I want to say”) or
arrogant (“I don’t care what else you have to do. I’m just going to keep
talking”). Neither makes it likely that people will pay attention or be
influenced by you.
As with any skill, you can
improve your communication and presentation skills by practicing, getting
feedback and working with a coach or mentor.
As you build your knowledge and communication skills, they will become part of your professional brand, resulting in stronger leadership presence and more success.