Think and Write Clearly

03/05/07

Barry Eigen, former head of a Wisconsin medical-products distributor, wrote a great book called How to Think Like a Boss and Get Ahead at Work.

In it, Eigen states matter-of-factly that the people who got promotions and raises in his company were those who could speak and write clearly and with purpose. They were the ones, he says, who got the most done.

It’s no wonder. Fuzzy writing and speaking usually reflects fuzzy thinking. When you sharpen your thinking skills, your writing and speaking improve.

But it’s not clear which comes first, because learning to write and speak well improves your thinking skills.

Take a class in writing if you think it would help—and not a one-day seminar. Take an evening course at a local college so you can devote a part of your life, like four months, to improving a skill that can really take you places.

In the meantime, here’s a quick way to sharpen your skills: Whenever you write someone —a letter or memo, strategy paper, e-mail, performance review—state your conclusion first. Example: “We should budget $1,800 a year to run background checks on job applicants.” Then offer reasons.

Putting your conclusion first gets readers to the heart of the matter immediately, something they’ll appreciate. It also encourages you to focus on facts that support your conclusion, not irrelevant information. And it’s pointless, irrelevant information that ruins so much business communication.

As for speaking, creating and delivering a speech or presentation is one of the best ways to sharpen your thinking. That’s because the process of structuring and delivering a speech forces you to wring it clean of unclear thoughts.

When you practice the presentation, you’ll become painfully aware of how your words meander to no effect, how often you foul your message with “ums,” and how important it is to present a clear line of reasoning to get action.

Need practice speaking? Try Toastmasters (www.toastmasters.org). You’ll learn to think and speak clearly—and get over any fear of standing up in front of people. And that can put you on the fast track.