Clear communication requires a decision

Recently, I was working with a leader who was preparing for an important internal discussion, and as he took me through his presentation, it just wasn't landing. His thinking was strong but his ideas kept branching off instead of forming into a clear position. This was the issue he was facing - you can't get to the point if you haven't decided what it is.

So I stopped him and asked the question: What are you actually trying to say?

What followed was not an answer, but another explanation of a slightly different idea. So we tried again, pushing his thinking until he could define his main point in a single sentence. It took longer than expected because it required removing everything that wasn't essential.

When the sentence finally developed, it was simple, almost surprisingly so, but it captured the idea in a way that the longer explanation never could. From there, everything else became easier. The structure became cleaner, the supporting points aligned easily, and the conversation he was preparing for shifted from something he felt nervous to manage to something that felt straightforward.

Before I developed the Cognitive Sequence Method, my own communication was often interpreted as scattered, with too many ideas moving in different directions.

As a unimodal Conceptual thinker I still naturally think that way, but I've learned to pause before speaking to ask myself a precise question: What am I trying to say?

A huge amount of cognitive effort is required to distill your thinking into a main point. It forces you to decide what matters most to you and what you're trying to achieve.

So before your next important conversation, try creating a simple constraint. Write down the single sentence that captures your point. Not a paragraph, not a set of notes - just one sentence.

If it feels difficult, it's a signal that your thinking isn't finished yet, because you can't get to the point if you haven't decided what it is.

Gregor