Getting+Your+Point+Across

How to Get a Point Across Connor Ohira

There are many times in life when we will be ignored, our voices drowned out by the sounds of others. After all, listening to others can be a hard thing to do. With that being said, there will be times when people do listen to us, and when a person takes the time to listen, make sure to get the point across because there may not be many opportunities. For that short period of time when you have a person's attention, focus and follow these steps on how to get a point across because when it's gone, it's gone. Every person is different, so there are different ways to get a point across. The unspoken part can be even more important than the words. It sets a good impression and starts you off on the right foot. The first thing I do is make sure that I look presentable. To be honest, if someone comes up to you with a nose ring and pink hair, are you going to take them seriously? It probably won't be that extreme, but take care of the little tangibles like having an ironed shirt and neat hair. The next step is to go over what is about to be said, in your head. You could look great, but if you don't know what you're talking about it won't matter. Finally, grab the attention of the listener with strong, but friendly, eye contact. Depending on the situation, coming off as intimidating can be effective, but the stern-friendly method works, too. If you can check all of these off of your list then you should be good to go. Next, speak with a calm and controlled voice to relax the listener. Keep in mind that calm does not mean soft. A soft voice usually results in the listener not being able to hear you or the listener just not caring. While speaking in that calm voice, make sure that the diction is there. Change words like good and great into phenomenal and extraordinary! Trust me, it makes a huge difference. Not only does it bring the words to life, but it sounds a lot better too. Then, after saying an important word or phrase, take a pause and let it all marinate in the listener's mind. This can be a very effective tactic at times. If that didn't make sense, imagine the listener's mind as a pan and your words as butter. Let the butter slowly sizzle until it melts into your listener's mind. You have to understand that diction will not always be perfect, so it is important to do the little things to enhance the talk in any way possible. When the words finally come out of your mouth, make sure that every word counts. Try to use as few words as possible because your time is not long before the listener will drift off and begin to think about homework and all of the other problems in life. Getting a point across can be a tough thing to do. If you don't have this skill, others will often ignore what you say. It is an extremely important skill to have because if you have great ideas, but can't get your point across, nobody will hear them. I'm sure there have been many instances in your lifetime where that has happened. Never let it happen again.