Lesson 6 of 12 · About 4 minutes
Reduce the burden of each sentence
A sentence that works on a page may contain more qualifications than a listener can retain. Place the main assertion early, then add the necessary qualification. Use concrete nouns and active verbs when they identify the actual actors. Read a sentence aloud; if you run out of breath or forget its beginning, divide it.
Define through use
When a technical word matters, define it briefly and show it working in an example. When it does not matter, use the familiar expression. Saying “a rule can be necessary without being sufficient” becomes clearer when followed by “a ticket may be required for entry, but a ticket alone may not admit you after the doors close.” Keep the conditions explicit.
Use numbers comparatively
A bare number leaves the listener to discover its scale. Explain the denominator, comparison, or change that makes it meaningful. Distinguish a percentage from a percentage-point change, and avoid false precision. In a short speech, one well-explained figure may do more work than a sequence no one can remember.
Worked example · fictional
From an intention to a usable choice
The institutionalization of participatory mechanisms facilitates stakeholder engagement.
Giving members the agenda a day early lets them prepare questions before the meeting.
The revision names who acts, what changes, and why the change helps.
Try it aloud
A focused drill
Take a paragraph from your outline. Replace three abstract nouns with named people, actions, or institutions. Read it to a peer and ask for a one-sentence paraphrase before explaining anything further.
Listen for this: Which words would a listener have to silently translate while you continued speaking?
Open the timer and outline