A guest speaker at Wharton told us – ‘Every time you open your mouth, your earn or burn market share.’
In today’s world, articulation is like oxygen – you need it to survive.
– Persuading your boss to give you a raise is articulation.
– The debates and discussions at work are articulation.
– Every presentation you make is articulation.
– The ad copy you write is articulation.
– Your website is articulation.
– Client calls are articulation.
And we often misunderstand articulation – you don’t have to speak or write like Shashi Tharoor to articulate well. It doesn’t have to be flawless, dripping with esoteric language, or delivered in some special accent.
At its core, articulation is about thought clarity. Good articulation just translates clear thinking into words, without too many digressions, fillers (‘you know’, ‘I mean’, etc.), and pompous language.
In fact, the best articulation is simple, without jargon, and conversational. And that is something we all can do – you don’t need to be educated at Oxford to do that.
All it takes is clarity and simplicity. The best things in life are always simple.
– Rajan