Getting to the Point in the First Moment of Truth
Steve Woodruff
The elevator pitch is dead - let's get to the point with your Memory Dart! I'll show you how to introduce yourself and your business with outstanding clarity. #ClarityWins #ConfusionLoses
Why do you and I need to get right to the point, in all of our professional communications?
Because we only have a few seconds to gain attention...or lose it. I call it the First Moment of Truth.
It’s brain science, actually.?Every human brain has a gatekeeper, a marvelous biological filtering mechanism called the Reticular Activating System (RAS). A major job of the RAS? To determine our focus at any given moment.
Here's the simple fact: the RAS wants one thing, very quickly – a clear signal. Immediate relevance. That's why we gain attention when we start with something interesting, new, or thought-provoking. Something with personal/professional relevance.
This is why our attention quickly wanders away from a purpose-less meeting, a jargon-filled resume, a boring sales presentation, or a droning virtual class. If "the point" isn't clear, our brains move on to more important things. We must start with the WIIFM (Whats's In It For Me).
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It’s a noisy, distracting world. If we don’t gain attention by engaging the Reticular Activating System in the first few moments, we lose – plain and simple. Every professional can gain a professional advantage by learning to get to the point.
That’s why ALL communication skills MUST start at the very beginning point – getting through the RAS and earning that scarcest commodity of all,?attention.
Increasingly, the art of?getting to the point with clarity?will be one of your most important professional skills.
How to get to the point – and how to get your point across – is the main theme of my Clarity workshops. If you’re in Sales, Marketing, Leadership, Training, or any other discipline, the Clarity Formula is for you. Many of my corporate clients incorporate Clarity workshops into on-boarding or professional development curricula, because better communication means more effective collaboration...and we all need to succeed in complex team environments.
Steve Woodruff is the author of?Clarity Wins, and the creator of the?Clarity Formula for Effective Communications. Contact him?here?to discuss Clarity workshops for your company.