TJ Walker advises speakers to design messages so listeners can accurately summarize and pass them on later. He emphasizes simplicity, concrete examples/stories, and a small number of clear points (the "water cooler" test) so that a 60-minute talk can be compressed into a 30-second takeaway; he also recommends practicing on video to refine delivery.
Chapters
How do you want other people to summarize your messages after you've spoken to them, after you've had that meeting, that presentation, that PowerPoint, that talk? So much of being a good communicator isn't just about the words coming out and your stagecraft and hand gestures and all that. It's about really thinking in advance. How will someone who's heard me talk then turn around and tell someone else a day later, a week later, even a month later, what it is? I said, if you're a CEO of a company and you are giving a presentation to top managers about a new policy, it's not enough for your managers to understand you. They have to have the ability to tell other people, their subordinates, the people who work for them, what your message was. Now, in the business world, we often think of this as the water cooler message. If someone heard you speak and didn't take notes, but they paid attention, someone bump into them at the water cooler, the next day they're having a cup of coffee. Oh, what did the boss say? Yesterday I was out sick. How would that person then describe that speech? How would that person summarize it the way a real person in the real world would do it? You need to think about that. Whether it's communication, a speech presentation in the business world, whether it is to a family member, friend, colleague, you need to think about how will they tell other people what it is you said? That's the importance of examples. That's the importance of simplicity. That's why it's so important to not just be abstract. If someone who heard you speak can't tell other people what your message was, then your message is going to be severely limited in its impact. The most power you can have as a speaker, as a communicator, is when your message can spread even when you're not in the room. So, for example, if I give a keynote speech on public speaking, what I'm hoping people will take away, if someone asks them the next day, what did that guy TJ say? I'm hoping they'll say, oh. What TJ was saying is, you know, anybody can be a great speaker. You got to narrow your messages down to a handful. You got to illustrate them all with a story. And if you really want to do a good job, you got to practice on video until you're happy with how you come across. If someone remembers that I'm incredibly happy, those are my major points that I stress in a 60 minute speech. But someone can sum it up in 30 seconds or so. If that's what happens, then that's exactly what I wanted. I consider that a success. You need to give thought to how you want other people to talk about your messages and talk about your presentation.
