From the course: Communication Foundations

Tool kit: Giving an update

From the course: Communication Foundations

Tool kit: Giving an update

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- Here are some drills for you to practice so that you can be ready next time you're asked to give an update, a report back, or a summary at work. First practice coming up with headlines. Think of two to three words that make a good response to each of these questions. Tell us about your weekend. Give us a progress report on your latest project. Where would you travel if cost was not a barrier? What happened at the department meeting last week? Notice that I'm giving you both work and recreational examples. It might be easier for you to think of headlines in one category versus another. Second step, train yourself to customize to your audience. Always customize to your audience. Here are four easy training steps. First, pick three to four colleagues you work with and think about what matters to them. Then, follow my conference example. How would you highlight that event for each of those three to four people? Now, think of an update related to your work, list a highlight that would matter to each of those three to four colleagues. Finally, go back to the headlines and craft subpoints. This drill allows you to dig a little deeper beyond the headline. So tell us about your weekend. Okay, quickly, think of what were three of your favorite activities. Give us a progress report on your latest project. What are three buckets you would highlight? Where would you travel if cost was not a barrier? Quickly, what are your top three destinations? What happened at the departmental meeting last week? Here we go again, write and think about three key takeaways. Finally, since my hypothetical conference highlight revolved around AI, I should tell you how to train for all this, update your speaking with the use of artificial intelligence. Tools such as yoodli.ai and Orai can record your comments and revise them for clarity and conciseness. Even if you don't have access to those types of tools, I recommend that you dictate your comments and then cut and paste them into a generative AI tool and ask it to help you eliminate unnecessary phrases or find language to further emphasize your points. Good luck with this drill. If you do it well, you will increase both your credibility and your speaking presence in your next meeting.

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