How to Articulate Your Thoughts & Influence EVERYONE — Full Guide (6 secrets)

Your communication skills are lacking. You may think you speak very well, but you actually don’t, and the moment you need to articulate your thoughts clearly, you will see how limited you truly are.

Listen, there are three types of people in this world: the arrogant, the fool, and the student.

The Arrogant thinks he’s great at communicating without ever improving this skill, the fool underestimates the power of communication and influence and dismisses the importance of it but the student the student is humble enough to accept.

He shouldn’t prove, he knows he isn’t born with Elite communication skills and he doesn’t dismiss the importance to cope with his lack of skill instead he is eager to get better, and out of the three this, is the one that becomes the most successful in life.

You see, communication is everything in the modern world. Your ability to communicate greatly dictates your success, even if you don’t have any other skills to back it up, because high-level communication is essential for influence.

It can get people to understand you, respect you, and follow you to the end of the earth. You can’t be a leader without it. If you have the student mindset, it’s time to become a powerful orator, and I’m here to help you. The truth is, I used to suck at communication.

I struggled forming clear sentences and making genuine connections with others, and because I was bad at it, I acted as if it wasn’t important. My actions were more important than my way of communicating.

That’s what I convinced myself of to cope with reality. I Was a Fool until I Grew Older and started to see how effective communication is that’s when I realized power is nothing unless you can turn it into influence finally.

I begin working on my communication skills and it improved my life and Leadership abilities in many ways but I still wanted to test how much influence can be gained from just communication, so I started this Medium Blog to see if communication is truly as powerful as I thought it was.

And as you can see, the blog blew up because people understand what I’m saying and connect with the message. Listen, if you just communicate you can’t get by but if you communicate skillfully, you can work miracles.

I will lay out five brutally honest ways to elevate your communication game, but there will be a sixth bonus point at the end of the Post that will teach you how to develop your own witty and charismatic style of speaking, so make sure you read this post until the very end.

#1 Think before you SPEAK

We see so many people just trembling their thoughts as if they were having a conversation with themselves. They don’t pay attention to what they say because they feel the social pressure to speak quickly, without thought it’s not because they have a great answer but because the pressure is forcing them to respond fast.

Now this pressure isn’t real but they make it real in their own heads, they feel the need to answer in time. This happens all the time even in conversations of low importance, like when the barber asks you something while you’re getting a haircut, just because someone asks you something doesn’t mean you must give an answer right away.

Think, is it really valuable what I’m talking about, or do I come off as a dork that’s wasting people’s time and attention?

That’s right you look like a dork!

To avoid that from happening, think before you speak. That brief pause makes all the difference in the world between a successful conversation and a disastrous one.

That brief pause can stop you from saying some of the most regrettable things you’ve ever said and here’s the secret, the more often you pause before you speak, the shorter those pauses become over time.

Because you are training yourself to think faster under pressure. In the beginning, you may need longer courses to formulate a well-thought-out response and it may even feel awkward to do at first but before you know it, you’ll be able to deliver well thought answers with ease.

Because your thought process now operates on a much faster level than other people, this is why you will see some men whether it’s in a debate or podcasts, that are able to deliver impactful responses effortlessly and it’s not because they have memorized their lines or are extremely talented.

No! these types of men are simply so used to thinking before they speak, that their brain is used to processing thoughts and answers at a much quicker rate, so think before you speak.

That’s where it all starts.

#2 Choose your Words

Words carry weight, so you must pick your words carefully. Always consider how they might be received by the other person, not just the content of the words you’re saying but how that person would receive them.

You see, the words you pick combined with the tone you use to say those words can make a night and day difference in how they are received.

Something you say with good intentions can be perceived as disrespectful or hostile merely because of the wrong choice of words and tone. You must be tactful as well as respectful of other people’s feelings.

Do not misunderstand it. I’m not telling you to become a little snowflake or use indirect communication like women do; however, you should always consider whether you’re about to say something necessary, relevant, and appropriate for the situation.

If it’s not, bite your tongue and save your thoughts for something more suitable. Remember, to become articulate is to become the master of your own tongue.

#3 Be a good Listener

Shut up and listen. One of the most important ways to become better at communicating and gain influence is by being a good listener.

Everyone likes to talk about themselves, and when you allow them to share things they love or enjoy talking about, they will associate those good feelings with you.

Most people don’t know this, but listening is actually the winning formula for influencing people. It sounds easy, right? Well, it isn’t. Being a good listener takes just as much skill as it does to become a good speaker.

I’m going to give you a few tips to become a great listener, and this can change your life, so pay attention.

We’ll start with the most obvious. Don’t interrupt!

Being interrupted is frustrating for the other person as it gives the impression that you think you’re more important or that you don’t have time for what they have to say.

If you are naturally a quicker thinker or speaker, force yourself to slow down so that the other person can express themselves. Remember, a pause or a few seconds of silence doesn’t mean that you have to jump in. Letting the other person speak will make it easier for you to understand their message.

Facial expressions, tone of voice, and gestures can tell you just as much as what is being said in words. Pay attention to what the other person is saying with their body language, then listen without judging or jumping to conclusions.

If you start reacting emotionally to what’s being said, then it can get in the way of listening to what’s being said.

Next, try to focus on listening equally; don’t try to predict what the other person is going to say; don’t plan a response because you can’t listen and prepare at the same time; and lastly, don’t impose your opinions or solutions.

We all have an ego, and most people prefer to come up with their own solutions.

It’s better to ask questions or give suggestions than to bluntly tell someone what to do. Of course, there is more to the art of listening, like your body language, making eye contact, and nodding your head to encourage the other person to keep talking, but with the tips I just gave, you can’t drastically improve your communication skills and influence.

Now let’s get back to becoming a great orator.

#4 Speak Concisely

Most people talk a lot without saying anything because they don’t know how to get to the point.

Listen, it’s important to know how to get to the point with as few words as possible. A concise and direct approach to communication is highly valued because it shows respect for the listener’s time and attention, and your speech becomes ten times more powerful if you know how to get to the point with as few words as possible.

Don’t get me wrong, sometimes you need to explain things thoroughly and add a lot of details, but the same Rule still applies. leave out any information that is irrelevant and craft your words carefully.

Don’t use 10 words when you can convey your point with two or three. You see, people tend to tune out when they feel like someone’s wasting their time or not providing valuable information because you come across as indecisive and uncertain.

If your speech is filled with garbage filler words or when you start to repeat yourself, you must stop saying “um” and using “like” and “you know” and other fillers to speak concisely.

You must always remember your message will be boring and forgotten if you use too many filler words or repeat yourself while it will be remembered and understood if you keep it concise and straight to the point.

So, stick to the point, keep your focus on the main topic and resist the urge to digress or share unrelated anecdotes. if you find yourself veering off- course, pause, regroup and redirect your thoughts before you continue speaking.

#5 PRACTICE

I’ve given you all the information you need to communicate properly, but now we’re going to get into how to practice and become a monster at communication.

Your practice comes down to two simple things: input and output. We will first start with input, which is reading. One of the best ways to become more articulate is by reading books.

Reading a variety of words makes your conversations more flexible and dynamic. A strong vocabulary provides speakers with the ability to create compelling and thoughtful sentences, so find books on topics you want to get better at, whether it’s books on self-improvement, making money, or even fictional books.

Even if it’s just 15 minutes a day, it doesn’t matter. Just make sure you read, as it not only makes you smarter but also improves your vocabulary, and if you read a word you don’t understand, make sure you look up the meaning of that word now.

The second part of practice is output. start writing Putting your thoughts on paper will improve your ability to articulate them because you are training yourself to play around with words.

You can write about anything. You could Journal about your goals and dream life or other thoughts that are on your mind. There are a million different things you could write about once again, even if it’s just 15 minutes a day or even every two or three days. It will carry over into your speaking abilities.

Now let’s get into how to develop your own unique and charismatic style of speaking. Copy and combine; it’s time to expose The Secret to developing a great style of your own is to start copying great speakers.

#6 Copy and Combine

Most people will misunderstand and say they don’t want to be a copycat. Listen, humans learn by copying. When you were a baby, you learned by copying your parents.

Then you went to school and started to copy your teachers and peers. And even now, you continue to learn by copying those around you. Copying is only a problem when you copy from just one person.

When you copy from dozens of different people and mix it up and give your own style to it, that’s called innovation. That’s why you need to turn into a copycat ninja. Think of it like creating the Ultimate Warrior: you need to copy different styles and blend them together to create something that is effective and powerful.

A prime example of this is MMA, which is a sport where it’s completely normal to copy different martial arts and blend them all together. So how can we use this to improve our communication?

Copy the great speakers you know, but don’t just copy one because that will turn you into a lesser version of that person and you will be seen as fake. Instead, let’s say you take what you think is useful from me.

You take a little bit from Jordan Peterson and a little bit of Joe Rogan and some Andrew Tate. Maybe you know some other great speakers and you add them in there too, along with all the other people you’ve learned from in your life mix all those Styles together and give your own touch to it and you’ll end up with a whole new style of speech.

That is unique to you, this is how you’ll be able to master the dance of your tongue and be able to articulate with finesse that has never been seen before.

That’s it, we’ve discussed some of the most important aspects of communication, there’s more I could say on the use of your voice intonations body language and pronunciation but that would make this Post way too long.

Use The Knowledge, and Destroy interveiwers and Debateors Completely.

Love and Regrads,

Shreyas Raj.