Big words do not automatically make a big communicator.
Sometimes the smartest person in the room is the one who can explain something so simply…
EVERYBODY GETS IT.
Many years ago, I was being deposed in a lawsuit.
I was told:
“Explain what happened so that everybody listening can form a clear picture.”
I wasn’t quite sure what that meant.
My response was basically:
I AM GOING TO TELL YOU WHAT I KNOW.
The rest is up to you.
Ask questions.
Then somebody gave me a piece of advice that immediately made sense.
SPEAK LIKE YOU ARE IN THE 6TH GRADE.
WOW…I GOT IT
That did not mean:
act childish.
Talk down to people.
Use baby words.
NO.
It meant:
KEEP IT SIMPLE.
Short sentences.
Clear thoughts.
One point at a time.
Say what happened.
Finish the thought.
Then move to the next one.
So that is what I did.
I stopped trying to sound:
guarded,
complicated,
legal,
careful beyond usefulness.
I simply explained what I knew.
Short.
Crisp.
Direct.
Something interesting happened.
People started taking notes.
There were fewer interruptions.
Fewer questions.
I could SEE that they understood me.
Now we were communicating.
WHAT DID YOU SAY?
How many times have you listened to somebody start throwing around fifty-dollar words…
when a five-dollar word would have worked beautifully?
LOL.
They speak.
You listen.
Then somewhere in the middle you realize:
I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THIS PERSON IS SAYING.
So you ask a question.
Bad move.
Because the ANSWER is even more complicated than the explanation.
Now you have entered the famous:
DEER IN THE HEADLIGHTS ZONE.
Your eyes are open.
Your ears are working.
But nothing is getting through.
PAUSE FOR CAUSE.
If your listener cannot understand you…
have you really communicated?
GIBBERISH SPOKEN HERE
You see this everywhere.
Car repairs.
Contracts.
Insurance.
Warranties.
Mortgages.
Technology.
Medical paperwork.
Government forms.
Legal documents.
Fine print.
Every profession develops its own language.
Some specialized language is necessary.
Absolutely.
But professional terminology becomes a problem when the person receiving the information cannot understand what it means for THEM.
If I am buying something…
signing something…
agreeing to something…
or paying for something…
I need to know what I am doing.
I don’t buy gibberish.
I don’t sign gibberish.
I don’t knowingly enter into gibberish deals.
Translate it for me.
REPEATING IS NOT COMMUNICATING
Here is another one.
I ask:
“WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?”
The person repeats exactly what they just said.
I say:
“I still don’t understand.”
So…
THEY SAY IT AGAIN.
Maybe louder.
LOL.
Then comes:
“NOW DO YOU UNDERSTAND?”
NO!
If those words did not communicate the idea the first time…
why would repeating the same words magically fix the problem?
Change the words.
Give an example.
Show me.
Compare it to something I already understand.
Communication is not repetition.
Communication is getting the meaning from YOU…
to ME.
THEY DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO OR SAY
Sometimes the problem is not the employee.
The poor person on the front line was never trained.
Someone told them:
Stand here.
Say this.
Do that.
Good luck.
Now the customer asks a question that is not in the script.
UH-OH.
There it is.
DEER IN THE HEADLIGHTS.
I have actually found myself trying to help an employee…
help ME.
LOL.
That is backwards.
If a business puts somebody in front of customers…
train them.
Give them:
knowledge,
examples,
answers,
authority,
and someone to call when they do not know.
And teach them one of the greatest sentences in customer service:
“I DON’T KNOW…BUT I WILL FIND OUT.”
Beautiful.
AM I MAKING SENSE?
I often ask people:
AM I MAKING SENSE?
And I mean it.
I am not fishing for agreement.
I am asking whether I successfully delivered the thought.
Those are two different things.
You can understand me…
and disagree with me.
Fine.
At least we connected.
That little question also shows something else.
CARE.
I care whether you are following.
If not…
I need to adjust.
That is MY job as the speaker.
SIMPLE DOES NOT MEAN STUPID
This is very important.
Speaking simply does not mean thinking simply.
Some extremely complicated subjects can be explained in understandable language by somebody who truly knows them.
In fact…
that may be one mark of mastery.
If you REALLY know the subject…
you can usually explain the basics without hiding behind jargon.
You know what matters.
You know what can wait.
You know where the listener needs to begin.
That is skill.
THE SIXTH-GRADE IDEA
Now let us clarify the title.
There is no magical sixth-grade level that literally reaches every person.
People differ in:
education,
language,
background,
experience,
and subject knowledge.
But the principle is excellent.
USE PLAIN LANGUAGE FIRST.
Then increase the technical level if the person wants or needs it.
Start where communication is easiest.
You can always go UP.
It is harder to recover after somebody has already become lost.
THE EXPERT TEST
Here is a little test I like.
Can you explain what you do…
without using the language of your profession?
Real Estate agents…
try it.
Attorneys…
try it.
Doctors…
try it.
Accountants…
try it.
Technology people…
PLEASE try it.
LOL.
If the person listening says:
“OH…NOW I GET IT.”
you just accomplished something important.
NOISE IS NOT COMMUNICATION
More words do not necessarily create more understanding.
Neither do:
longer words,
fancier phrases,
more slides,
more charts,
or more talking.
Noise is noise.
Communication happens when the other person receives enough of your intended meaning to understand it accurately.
That is the goal.
Not impressing them.
CONNECTING with them.
CUSTOMER SERVICE 101
If someone asks:
How much?
Tell them.
How does it work?
Explain it.
What happens next?
Show them.
What am I signing?
Tell them in understandable language.
What does this mean for me?
ANSWER THAT.
Now you are servicing the customer.
We do not need a verbal Broadway production.
We need communication.
SIMPLE.
DIRECT.
HUMAN.
RICHIE SPEAKS
Here is one Richie rule:
If I need a dictionary to understand your sales pitch…
you may already be losing the sale.
Another:
Do not make the listener prove how smart they are.
Prove how clearly YOU can communicate.
And one more:
The point of speaking is not to hear yourself talk.
The point is to CONNECT.
PEARLS FROM THE BOOKS
From the spirit of Pearls for the Soul:
“Clarity does not make an idea smaller; it makes the idea easier to receive.”
From the spirit of God I AM:
“What is worth sharing should be offered in a way another person can actually understand.”
From the spirit of It Is Finished:
“Release unnecessary complication after simple truth has already made the point.”
PEARLS INSIGHT
Plain-language communication reduces unnecessary cognitive load.
People generally understand information more easily when it uses:
familiar words,
shorter sentences,
clear organization,
concrete examples,
and one main idea at a time.
The appropriate reading level still depends on the audience and subject.
Technical terminology is sometimes necessary.
The objective is not to eliminate precision.
It is to make precision UNDERSTANDABLE.
PEARLS CONNECTION
This connects directly with PEOPLE WHO KNOW THEIR BUSINESS…TALK TO THE POINT.
Knowing your subject helps you identify what actually needs saying.
It also connects with VISIT THE WORLD OF YES, NO AND I DON’T KNOW.
Simple answers can create remarkably clear conversations.
And ASKING QUESTIONS UNTIL SATISFIED…IS VERY SATISFYING reminds us that if something is not understood…
ASK.
Communication belongs to both people.
FINAL SAY
Speak plainly.
Not DOWN to people.
TO people.
Use the words necessary to deliver the idea.
Then stop.
If somebody wants more detail…
give it.
If they look confused…
try another way.
If you do not know…
say so.
If you care whether the listener understands…
ask:
AM I MAKING SENSE?
That little question can change the whole conversation.
Because communication is not measured by how intelligent the SPEAKER sounds.
It is measured by how clearly the LISTENER receives the message.
So yes…
speak a little 6th grade when it helps.
Short.
Clear.
Relaxed.
To the point.
Then recess.
LOL.
— Richie
Pearls for the Soul
when you feed the soul, you feed everything.
https://pearlsforthesoul.com
Been expecting you