The importance of communication skills: The speaker argues that communication skills are essential for success in life, and that people should strive to improve their ability to speak and write.
Techniques to improve communication skills: The speaker provides a number of heuristics or techniques that speakers can use to improve their communication skills. These include:
Starting a talk with an empowerment promise: Tell the audience what they will learn by the end of the talk.
Cycling on the subject: Go around your main points several times to ensure everyone understands.
Building a fence around your ideas: Distinguish your ideas from others by explaining the differences.
Using verbal punctuation: Provide cues to the audience about where you are in your talk, such as using phrases like “the first thing” or “the next point.”
Asking questions: Ask questions to the audience to engage them and to check for understanding.
Using stories: Stories can help people to understand and remember your ideas.
Articulating with a symbol: Associate a symbol with your work to make it memorable.
Telling a surprising fact: Share a surprising fact related to your work to grab the audience’s attention.
Ending a talk without saying thank you: The speaker argues that saying “thank you” at the end of a talk is a weak move and suggests other ways to conclude a talk, such as saluting the audience.