It’s only a few weeks into the new year, but are you finding your 2023 goals kind of hard to describe? Are you so challenged putting words around what you’d like to accomplish that you’re second-guessing whether you’re on the right track? Don’t throw in the towel yet.
At the beginning of the January series, Three Ways to Shift Goals from Aspirational to Attainable, we discussed how bossing up used to be setting a bodacious goal, making a splashy announcement, and then hoping for the best. But that formula relies on wishing and willpower. In its place, try backing up your big vision with a powerful narrative.
Let’s see how communicating with ease and clarity works hand-in-hand with goals. For instance:
* Are you trying to level up in your career? A critical step may be confidently pitching your manager for help on a stretch project.
* Are you trying to make a side hustle profitable? You might need to streamline a complex idea before asking an angel investor for resources.
* Or your hurdle might be as simple as announcing a new tool you’ve built. Getting colleagues excited about using that tool will require a compelling elevator pitch, such as helping them save time and steps.
The good news is that you don’t have to go big or go back to school to use soft skills. Instead, you can start where you are and polish your communication style step by step.
Dr. Jessica Wade understood how honing communication skills was a force multiplier. Let me tell you how she took a simple idea and made a difference for millions.
Dr. Jessica Wade never set out to become an author. But everything changed when she noticed that women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics were missing in action on Wikipedia. Determination kicked in, and she instantly began rectifying the situation.
Wade’s background served her well in her passion project. Her doctoral research as a physicist focused on digital display technologies, an incredibly complex science. However, completing the study was only step one. The secret was to translate that research into something understandable and accessible.
She applied the same methodology to STEM articles. Wade could have stopped after filling in factual gaps. However, she also aimed to make the pieces fun and entertaining. Her perspective was that this “awesome under-represented group working in science and engineering” deserved it.
Over 1,700 articles later and counting, Dr. Wade was invited to receive the British Empire Medal for her efforts.
Communication isn’t limited to the nuts and bolts of a project—it’s also about sharing your vision and passion. You can share your passion effectively by shifting from the old-school, dense “show your homework” presentation to an agile, precise style.
When you power communication with soft skill How tactics like creativity and insight, you become the person presenting information that matters most at the right time, told with the most impact. Cultivating that superpower means you’re effective whether you have 5 minutes to present or 50!
Here are three ways for you to become The Precision Storyteller:
I need to share all the details becomes I cut to the heart of the matter, communicating with ease.
I know what people need to hear becomes I consider my audience and share what is necessary
I follow traditional presentation styles becomes I calibrate how I communicate for every situation. I easily streamline complex ideas.
Entrepreneur Jim Rohn once said, “If you communicate, you can get by. But if you communicate skillfully, you can work miracles.” Transform raw ideas into sustainable success by becoming The Precision Storyteller.