Transcript
00:00:00How do you articulate your thoughts clearly without overthinking every single word?
00:00:05You know that moment when you're talking halfway through your sentence and
00:00:08you don't even know what point you're trying to make?
00:00:10Hi, my name's Vin. I've coached millions of people to improve their communication
00:00:13and the three frameworks I'm going to share with you in this video will help you sound
00:00:16well-spoken and more articulate in professional and personal conversations.
00:00:21And I'll break it into the three most common scenarios that play out for most people.
00:00:25The first is when you do know your stuff but you can't explain it simply.
00:00:29The second is when you don't know much about what's being discussed
00:00:33but you don't want to come across completely clueless.
00:00:36And the third, which is the most common scenario especially at work,
00:00:39is when you actually do know the answer but the pressure of being in front of your peers
00:00:44and your leaders causes your brain to scramble and then you go blank.
00:00:47I used to think, oh, articulation? That's a speaking problem.
00:00:51Well, it's not. Messy words come from messy thinking.
00:00:55So the real skill isn't just learning how to talk better,
00:00:59it's learning how to think more clearly and when you're put on the spot,
00:01:03frameworks will help you think more clearly so that you can sound more well-spoken and articulate.
00:01:09So let's start with scenario one, which is when you're actually knowledgeable on the topic
00:01:14but you can't articulate well.
00:01:16When I run my communication classes and workshops,
00:01:18a large portion of my students fall into this specific category.
00:01:23They're engineers, doctors, and lawyers.
00:01:25They're highly knowledgeable individuals.
00:01:26But when I ask them the reason why they joined my class,
00:01:29the number one reason I hear is,
00:01:31Finn, I struggle to explain my ideas clearly.
00:01:34You've probably been in this scenario as well.
00:01:36You're trying to explain the topic you know well but you overcomplicate it.
00:01:40You go in circles and you can slowly start to see the other person look more and more confused.
00:01:45And the worst part is, you leave the conversation thinking,
00:01:48maybe, maybe I don't understand my topic as well as I thought I did.
00:01:52But here's what's actually going on.
00:01:53You know your topic well because you've studied it a lot.
00:01:57But you can't explain it to someone well because you haven't explained it a lot.
00:02:01That's all that it is.
00:02:03Learning and explaining are two completely separate skills.
00:02:06You've done thousands of hours of one and almost none of the other.
00:02:10That's why the world is full of wonderful experts who actually can't teach.
00:02:14They struggle to pass on their knowledge to others without boring them or losing them.
00:02:19So before I share with you the framework,
00:02:21the key point I want you to take away here is that the best teachers,
00:02:25the best explainers, they have mastered the art of distillation.
00:02:30They're able to distill the complex and make it simple for you to understand.
00:02:34In other words, they've learned to take their messy thoughts
00:02:38and deliver it in a clear and concise and coherent way.
00:02:41So when I want to learn how to explain anything better,
00:02:44here's the framework that I use.
00:02:46It's a simple four-step loop.
00:02:48The first part of it is capture.
00:02:51After that, you've got structure.
00:02:54Then after that, you've got practice.
00:02:58And then finally, you've got iterate.
00:03:02And then it's back to capture all over again, therefore being a loop.
00:03:06Let's start with capture, number one, which is what?
00:03:11It's writing.
00:03:12And I know the second I say writing, half of you are checking out now,
00:03:15but stick with me here.
00:03:16Because this is what helps you think about something more clearly.
00:03:19When a thought is in your head, it's floating around,
00:03:21it's jumbled, it's disjointed, and it's all over the place.
00:03:25And it's almost impossible to shape something you can't see.
00:03:27But the moment you write it on paper, or you type it into a document,
00:03:31you're forced to turn the feelings into words.
00:03:34And now the thought is sitting there right in front of you,
00:03:36where you can actually look at it.
00:03:38The art of writing is the art of making your thoughts visible.
00:03:42And to give you a real example,
00:03:44every single week I share a newsletter to my email subscribers called The Weekly V.
00:03:48We've actually got 2 million readers,
00:03:50and we get a 50% open rate week to week, and that's just crazy.
00:03:53But the reason this happens, and the reason why I do it,
00:03:56is because it forces me to capture my thoughts
00:03:59and then write about my experiences
00:04:01in a way that becomes helpful to our readers.
00:04:05So here are the two steps to get your thoughts into writing.
00:04:08The first one is, just ask yourself,
00:04:10what's the one thing I want to get better at explaining?
00:04:12And then once you've got that topic,
00:04:13the second thing is, well, write down how you currently explain it.
00:04:17Write it out exactly as you would explain it.
00:04:19And at first, your writing and explaining might not be in the optimal order,
00:04:23but that's what the next step is for, structure.
00:04:26Because once you get all of your thoughts about a specific topic down on paper,
00:04:30you can now see the pieces and go,
00:04:32oh, I shouldn't say that first, I should have said this first.
00:04:35Actually, they need to understand this before any of that's going to make sense.
00:04:39You can only put the puzzle together once you can see the puzzle pieces.
00:04:43So now that you've written out how you currently explain the specific topic,
00:04:47look at the puzzle pieces.
00:04:48Does it make sense?
00:04:50Is it too long?
00:04:50Is it easy to understand?
00:04:52Is it too much jargon?
00:04:53Is there an analogy, a metaphor, or a simile that you can use to simplify it?
00:04:57Give yourself permission here to play.
00:04:59Add some new pieces.
00:05:00Reorder the pieces.
00:05:02So it'll be engaging enough and simple enough
00:05:04that even a teenager could understand.
00:05:07Then the next step is what separates great thinkers from great speakers.
00:05:12Because without practice, without you saying it out loud,
00:05:16all of your brilliance, your knowledge, your ideas, it just stays on the page.
00:05:20So here's what I want you to do.
00:05:22Turn on your camera.
00:05:24It could be your phone.
00:05:25Just hit record and start talking through the idea
00:05:28with the new structure that you've written down.
00:05:30And as you practice this out loud,
00:05:31you'll get a sense of what it feels like in your mouth quite literally.
00:05:34And as you do that, you'll be able to identify where things flow, where they don't.
00:05:40When I'm scripting and writing these YouTube videos, for example,
00:05:43the moment I sit down and practice saying it out loud,
00:05:45I can immediately pick up the parts that don't logically flow well.
00:05:49And the more you do this, the better you'll get at simplification.
00:05:52Because that's what great communicators do.
00:05:54And the final step here is iterate.
00:05:57And what I mean by this is you now have to listen back to the video you just recorded
00:06:02and ask yourself, was it clear?
00:06:04Was it concise?
00:06:05Was it coherent?
00:06:06Identify where the explanation gets too complex or messy.
00:06:09And then you go back to capture and you start the whole loop again.
00:06:13This might mean making it shorter, changing some of the pieces, restructuring again.
00:06:18And sometimes it means throwing out the whole damn thing and chucking it in the bin,
00:06:22starting from scratch.
00:06:23This is the work required if you want to be an influential communicator.
00:06:27This is the practice required.
00:06:28That's how you stop being the expert that nobody understands.
00:06:32And you start becoming the expert that everybody understands.
00:06:37And by the way, if you want to learn more frameworks to improve your ability to articulate well,
00:06:41especially when you're put on the spot, make sure you click the link in the description
00:06:44or you can scan the QR code that's on screen for my free two-hour training,
00:06:48where I'm going to teach you three powerful communication frameworks
00:06:50to filter your thinking through so that it helps you come across more well-spoken.
00:06:55So check it out.
00:06:56It's completely free.
00:06:57Now, the next scenario is the complete opposite.
00:07:00This is where you're in a conversation and then the topic changes to one you don't know much about.
00:07:05What should you do in this scenario?
00:07:06Should you pretend you know and then fake it?
00:07:09Or should you just say, I don't know?
00:07:11These are two great questions.
00:07:13Let me tell you what I do.
00:07:14Number one, I name what I know.
00:07:17Number two, I name what I'm still working out.
00:07:20And then, number three, I ask a question that moves the conversation forward.
00:07:24Let me show you what that sounds like.
00:07:26So what do you think about all this AI stuff?
00:07:27Do you think it's going to take over everyone's jobs?
00:07:29What I know is that AI has gotten scary good at the narrow and repetitive stuff, the tasks that follow really clear rules.
00:07:35And the part that I'm still trying to work out myself is where's the limit?
00:07:38Because every time I try to get it to do something difficult, it often fails.
00:07:42And can I ask what's your take?
00:07:44Do you see it as a tool that replaces just tasks?
00:07:47Or do you think it's gradually going to replace people in their roles?
00:07:50Maybe it's going to replace your role, Peter.
00:07:53No, no, no, don't get me wrong.
00:07:55I'm not going to fire Peter and replace him with AI.
00:07:58Why?
00:07:59Well, because can AI warm my seat for me every morning before I get in?
00:08:02Can AI make me my coffee exactly how I want it at 8am on the dot when I arrive in the office and place it in my hand the moment I snap my fingers?
00:08:11Didn't snap my fingers, Pete.
00:08:12Mate, that was premature.
00:08:14Did you catch what happened in the skit though?
00:08:16Even though someone asked me to speak on a topic that I didn't know much about, I was still able to come across articulate, thoughtful and competent by following the framework I shared right here.
00:08:25Now, here's an unexpected thing you can do that will increase your relatability, likability and even respect.
00:08:31This is for when you get asked a question and you don't know the answer.
00:08:34In these moments, contrary to popular belief, it's actually okay to say, I don't know.
00:08:40One caveat here though, you must have previous to this question already have demonstrated value and credibility.
00:08:46If these things have already been established and you say the words, I don't know, it humanizes you.
00:08:53I've done this before in my workshops.
00:08:55I don't know the answer to that.
00:08:58And I believe it's very important for me to clearly state that when I don't know.
00:09:02So, again, I'm not qualified to answer that.
00:09:05That's actually, that's still a good answer.
00:09:07Oh, okay.
00:09:08I thought it was shit too.
00:09:10I used to believe that saying, I don't know, would make people respect me less.
00:09:15But like you saw in the video, because I've already added value that morning, when I said the words, I don't know, in a situation where I actually didn't know, people respected me more.
00:09:24And there's another benefit.
00:09:25It takes an enormous amount of pressure off you when you know you can say, I don't know.
00:09:30Because most people walk into a client meeting, a presentation or a conversation with their boss, believing they need to have an answer for everything.
00:09:39But when you give yourself permission to say, I don't know, you're no longer trying to be ChatGPT.
00:09:43You can slow down, acknowledge what you do know, and because of this framework here, you can now explain it clearly, which increases credibility.
00:09:54So that when there's something you don't know, saying, I don't know, doesn't ruin your reputation.
00:10:00In actual reality, it increases the trust and respect that people have for you.
00:10:04Because they know when you don't know, you're not going to outright lie to them.
00:10:08And now for the final scenario, one where we are all too familiar with.
00:10:14This is when you know your stuff.
00:10:16But when someone asks you a question, the pressure of being in the spotlight and needing to answer in the moment causes you to go completely blank.
00:10:23And this has happened to me more than most people on the biggest stages around the world.
00:10:28So I feel qualified to give you some real advice here.
00:10:31It's like when you accidentally open all the browser tabs in one click, causing your browser to lag.
00:10:36Same thing with your brain.
00:10:37When someone asks you a question and all of your thoughts fire at once.
00:10:40Damn it, Peter.
00:10:41That wasn't a coffee click.
00:10:43You've got to hear the difference.
00:10:44Learn to hear the difference.
00:10:46That's a coffee click.
00:10:48That's a click for emphasis.
00:10:49Come on, mate.
00:10:50Get it together.
00:10:51Now, as I was saying, all your thoughts just fire at once.
00:10:54And then as a result, your brain can't decide which one to grab and where to start.
00:10:59And from the outside, it makes you look incompetent if you freeze for too long.
00:11:03So then as a result, you feel the pressure to speak.
00:11:06And then you start speaking your thoughts out loud, causing you to go in circles and ramble.
00:11:10This is the framework you need to remember in those moments.
00:11:13And it's called POP.
00:11:15P-O-P.
00:11:17And the first one stands for pause.
00:11:19I know how counterintuitive this feels.
00:11:22Because again, you feel like you should respond immediately.
00:11:26Wrong click, Peter.
00:11:27But you feel like you should respond immediately to show how knowledgeable you are.
00:11:31But that doesn't work.
00:11:33What you need is to take a couple of seconds to think about your response before giving it.
00:11:38And you'll be surprised how giving yourself an extra moment or two to think actually helps
00:11:43you get more clarity on your thoughts.
00:11:45And you might think this is weird.
00:11:47But trust me, it's only weird if you make it weird.
00:11:51Watch this example of me at one of my workshops where someone's asking me a question.
00:11:55I want you to count how many seconds I paused for while I was thinking.
00:11:59Are there any stories you have yet to share with us that you would really like to share
00:12:05that would kind of nurture a part of your heart?
00:12:12Now, did I come across awkward?
00:12:21Did I come across like I was panicking and freaking out and freezing?
00:12:24Or did I come across as if I was someone who was putting a lot of thought into their response?
00:12:29That's the power of the pause when you do it confidently.
00:12:33And you know what?
00:12:34Even though I took that long to pause, guess what happened after that?
00:12:38Have a look at this.
00:12:40Would you all mind having a chat amongst yourselves for just a couple of minutes?
00:12:45While I really sit and think with this?
00:12:47Is that okay?
00:12:48Okay, I'll just sit and have a think.
00:12:52Yes, that's right.
00:12:54I asked for more time because I have confidence that if you give me an extra two minutes,
00:12:58I'm going to be able to give you an incredible amount of value in my response.
00:13:03Now, the next part of the framework is O.
00:13:05And what does O stand for?
00:13:07It stands for one thought.
00:13:10Begin your response with the sentence.
00:13:12The one thought that comes to mind is.
00:13:15What this does for you is that it forces your brain to focus just on one point to share
00:13:20instead of trying to share every single point that comes to mind.
00:13:23And by doing this, it allows you to respond faster because of the focus
00:13:27and not get stuck in analysis paralysis.
00:13:30This is what causes people to freeze and worse, ramble.
00:13:33Oh, it's the worst.
00:13:34And what this does for the listener is it tells them,
00:13:37you've actually got a lot of thoughts on this,
00:13:38but you're deliberately selecting one to share.
00:13:41And the final P is proof.
00:13:45Once you've shared your thought, you now back up that thought with an example.
00:13:50It could be a story, a result, an observation, a statistic.
00:13:53This helps solidify and add more credibility to the thought that you just shared.
00:13:58Now, let me give you an example.
00:14:00Vin, I'm curious.
00:14:01What are some clever ways for us to get our YouTube subscribers to hit subscribe?
00:14:04Any ideas?
00:14:07You know what?
00:14:09The one thought that comes to mind is that we can create a skit
00:14:12where we passively speak to the audience about the importance of why they should subscribe.
00:14:17Let me give you an example.
00:14:18Because when we do it directly to the camera,
00:14:20people tend to resist because they don't want to be told what to do.
00:14:23That's why we should indirectly, through a skit,
00:14:26speak to their subconscious to get them to subscribe.
00:14:29I mean, it's subtle, it's clever, and it's completely invisible.
00:14:32They're not going to notice it.
00:14:34Yeah, you mean just like this, right?
00:14:35No, you idiot.
00:14:37That's way too obvious.
00:14:42You know what to do.
00:14:43You see, POP.
00:14:44POP is one of the many frameworks that exist to help you articulate your thoughts more clearly.
00:14:48So if you want to learn more of my favorite communication frameworks,
00:14:51make sure you check out the free training I mentioned earlier in the video.
00:14:54It's in the description, and the QR code is here.
00:14:56It's going to help you create more structure and clarity every time you speak.
00:15:00So here's my challenge to you this week.
00:15:02Pick a topic you know a lot about and take it through the first framework.
00:15:05Capture it, write it down, everything that comes to mind.
00:15:08Then when your thoughts are visible, restructure it, remix it, add stuff, mix it all around.
00:15:14Most people stop there.
00:15:15But without the next step of practice and reading your thoughts out loud,
00:15:18you'll never be able to explain anything simply and articulately.
00:15:22And finally, iterate.
00:15:24That's how you start practicing the habit of thinking and speaking clearly.
00:15:28You can't do one without the other.
00:15:30And I want to leave you with this message.
00:15:31If you can't communicate clearly right now,
00:15:33and if you don't see yourself as a great communicator right now,
00:15:37I want you to remember how you currently communicate is just a series of behaviors
00:15:41that you can improve over time by practicing the things you learned in this video.
00:15:45You're not stuck with the way you communicate.
00:15:47So don't be so attached to who you are in the present
00:15:49that you don't give the future version of you a chance.
00:15:53I'll see you in the next video.