Communications: Command the Room

Part 1: Verbal Communication – How to get your point across with confidence

May 27, 2025

It’s a skill that may go unnoticed when done well, but it’s a glaring gap when it’s missing. Strong communication skills can potentially do more for your career trajectory than just about any other technical skill.

Great communication skills don’t always present as dazzling, showy speeches or TED Talk-level presentations. But if you can clearly express your ideas, connect with your audience, and get your points across in a way that people understand, you’ll be well on your way.

I’ve seen some high potential performers stall out in their careers not because they lacked ideas or initiative, but because they couldn’t communicate effectively. There were so many times they struggled to put their thoughts together and express them coherently to their audience – whether it was in one-on-ones, small groups or important large presentations.

On the other hand, I’ve also seen some “just-average” team members rise faster than you’d expect because they knew how to speak so people listened – and remembered.

The good news is that communication skills can be learned and developed over time. So, even if you don’t think you’re a natural, practice and some helpful tips can help you excel.

Communication skills are so important, we are going to dive into this area over two posts. First up is verbal communication. There are so many critical situations where verbal communications are important.

Here are a few common situations where superior verbal communication is critical:

One-on-One Meetings are a great opportunity to build trust and verify understanding of your points. You can speak plainly, and often you can be direct. There’s typically a chance to read non-verbal cues for feedback. In these situations, be sure to pause to let the other person process and respond. One-on-ones can be as much about listening as talking.

Small Group Discussions are often about getting alignment and understanding diverse perspectives. Your contributions are best received when they are concise and relevant. You want to find the balance between making your points and hearing others. Judge the dynamics of the meeting and stay flexible depending on where the conversation goes. You may need to adapt your approach.

Large Audience Presentations can be tricky. In addition to potentially being nervous about presenting to a big group, you’ll have to remember that your audience may be diverse, coming from different functions and levels in the organization, and have different biases. In your presentation, laying a foundation of understanding is critical before you get into too many technical details so that your whole audience comes along with you.

Regardless of the setting, there are 4 fundamentals everyone should try to master as early in their careers as possible:

1. The Audience

The most important question to ask – whether it’s in a casual meeting or a formal presentation – is: Who am I talking to? And what do they need from me right now?

That sounds like some very basic advice, but most people skip this step. They focus on what they want to say, not what their audience needs to hear. You’ve got to put yourself in the place of the audience to help you figure out what to say and how to say it.

If you’re talking to your manager, they probably want clear updates and early indicators of risks or questions. If you’re briefing a cross-functional team, they need full context so they can understand how they fit into the project. If you’re addressing executives, they’re looking for high-level insights, implications, next steps, and that they can trust that you’re on the right track.

Always tailor your message to the listener. Include the right level of detail and a well-organized message that is useful to your audience.

2. Your Point

Before you speak, get clear on your main point. Think through what are the one or two important pieces of information you want your audience to walk away with? What do you want them to remember above everything else that you discuss with them?

Sometimes your objective is a decision you need them to make. Sometimes you want to give a key update to a project or give input into a business problem. Sometimes you just want to offer reassurance that things are on track. Whatever your objective, you can minimize your risk of rambling or getting lost by staying laser-focused on your objective.

You’re being kind to your audience when you take the time to define your main point and stick to it. You are saving your audience from the heavy-lifting of sifting through an unclear or unstructured communication to discover what it is all about.

3. The Approach

There are two basic structures of effective business communications. You’ll choose which is best based on your audience and your objective.

Option A: Conclusion First
You start with the key takeaway – the headline. This is followed by the supporting details. Conclusion first is useful in situations where a decision is necessary and you want to get your perspective out for discussion. It comes in handy when a business problem is well-known to the audience, and they are familiar with the issues.
For example: “I recommend we issue the customer a full refund. Based on the nature of the complaint and the customer’s purchase history, we should do what we can to retain her business.”
Option B: Rationale Leads
You first lay out the facts, circumstances and rationale that build up to your conclusion. This approach may be useful when you need to explain background and make sure everyone understands the issues. You’ll be leading your audience through your thinking.
For example: “We’ve carefully examined the development timelines, supply chain deliveries and our considered quality standards. We’ve also conferred with marketing. Based on those inputs, we recommend a June launch.”

Both structures can work, and it will depend on the specific situation. Generally, senior leaders prefer the first one: give them the bottom line first, then the supporting points. Teams or peers, and even your direct manager might need the story built up before they get to the conclusion.

4. Build Confidence

Once you have the basics, and they become second nature, you can take your verbal communications to the next level with some additional tools:

Organization. Your communications will be more effective when they are organized. Anticipating questions will help you include the right information in the body of your discussion or presentation, and be ready to answer with more depth. Be ready to insert a few thoughtful pauses, especially in more formal presentations. You’ll give your audience time to absorb what they are hearing, and you’ll give yourself the opportunity to check in with them for understanding.

Your visual aids. Slides have become a crutch for us in many communications. I have seen some people completely unable to present or lead a discussion without their slides. However, there’s one principle to keep in mind: your slides are there to support your story, not tell it for you. Use your slides to highlight a key point you’re making, and make sure your slides help your audience understand what you’re saying. A good slide can provide a visual to help your audience remember your communication.

If you are prone to cramming your slides full of information, remember that dense slides are likely to lose your audience. They may even undermine the audience’s perception of you. One wise mentor once advised me that people can tell the difference between a presenter “who knows his slides” and a presenter “who knows his material”. Be the presenter who knows the material.

Practice. For both everyday encounters and big presentations, practice can make a world a difference. For smaller meetings, even writing down your communications points and saying them to yourself can be a powerful form of practice and preparation. For larger presentations, it’s always helpful to run through a few times – out loud – to help you get a sense of timing and flow.

Bonus points if you record yourself and see where you’re being clear, and where you need to tighten up your delivery.

Call to Action: Start Now

Don’t wait until your next big presentation to practice your new techniques. Start with your next team meeting or your next check-in with your manager.

Who’s my audience?
What’s my key point?
What’s the best way to structure what I will say?

Make yourself a note before you go into the meeting or get on the phone. You’ll quickly start to develop refined communication skills that become second nature.

You’ll see feedback. It will come in the form of better understanding from your colleagues. You’ll hear people repeat back to you what you just told them – they will remember what you said.

Over time, you’ll build your trust and credibility. And you may even become a trusted advisor to a new colleague in search of ways to improve their own communications!

Stay tuned for Part Two of this series, where we’ll dive into written communication – emails, reports, direct messages, and how to make your writing work for you.