Ask HN: How to learn to clearly express your thoughts
Some people are really good are using words (writing or just speaking) to explain theirs opinions/thoughts. I was wondering if anyone here had problem with this and somehow managed to get it to the "next level" and improved these skills.
12 comments
What has worked for me:
* Be aware of "signal-to-noise" ratio in your communication. If you want to say something - say it simply (as best you can) and then stop. Don't dilute your point with unnecessary prefacing or qualification like "but that's just my idea... oh I'm not really sure if I expressed it clearly". You will be very tempted to do this, but resist the temptation and let the silence sit a while, give people time to absorb your comment and to respond.
* Have faith in the approach of "practice makes perfect", or if that doesn't work for you - an "iterative approach", whereby each time you try to articulate your thoughts (and probably fail initially - that's OK), the NEXT time you do so, you will be just that little bit better. You don't need to focus so much on making it perfect each time - that just reduces your practice frequency and will feed your anxiety through analysis paralysis.
* Be aware of "signal-to-noise" ratio in your communication. If you want to say something - say it simply (as best you can) and then stop. Don't dilute your point with unnecessary prefacing or qualification like "but that's just my idea... oh I'm not really sure if I expressed it clearly". You will be very tempted to do this, but resist the temptation and let the silence sit a while, give people time to absorb your comment and to respond.
* Have faith in the approach of "practice makes perfect", or if that doesn't work for you - an "iterative approach", whereby each time you try to articulate your thoughts (and probably fail initially - that's OK), the NEXT time you do so, you will be just that little bit better. You don't need to focus so much on making it perfect each time - that just reduces your practice frequency and will feed your anxiety through analysis paralysis.
I feel that I've been good at writing for a long time. But that's only because I'm old and started reading and writing a LONG time ago.
So...
Read, read, read, then read some more. Take notes on what you read. Since you want to work on your thoughts I'd recommend sticking to non-fiction essays and more specifically editorials. These are examples of people putting their thoughts together.
Put down that social media, put down those forums (esp HN), put down reddit and imgur and facebook. Stop watching TV and movies, edutainment and commercials in sheep clothing. They won't help you. I mean, you can't do this 24/7, but if you find yourself with some "free" time and can choose what you want to do, don't just be a couch potato.
Write, write, write, then write some more. Doesn't need to be a lot and all at once. But regular writing, even if it's only 50 words is necessary to get the skills.
If you're not good at it, it's going to be a lot of work. But you're driven so you'll be fine if you put in the time.
So...
Read, read, read, then read some more. Take notes on what you read. Since you want to work on your thoughts I'd recommend sticking to non-fiction essays and more specifically editorials. These are examples of people putting their thoughts together.
Put down that social media, put down those forums (esp HN), put down reddit and imgur and facebook. Stop watching TV and movies, edutainment and commercials in sheep clothing. They won't help you. I mean, you can't do this 24/7, but if you find yourself with some "free" time and can choose what you want to do, don't just be a couch potato.
Write, write, write, then write some more. Doesn't need to be a lot and all at once. But regular writing, even if it's only 50 words is necessary to get the skills.
If you're not good at it, it's going to be a lot of work. But you're driven so you'll be fine if you put in the time.
Thanks. I am reading a lot, but I am not writing enough... I was wondering if (and how) writing can improve your speaking skills.
IMHO there's no strong connection between writing and speaking skills. A little bit of overlap, but not much.
There's probably a local Toastmasters near you to try. But I've never done one. I have given a few lectures and taught a bit.
There's probably a local Toastmasters near you to try. But I've never done one. I have given a few lectures and taught a bit.
One specific thing to level up your expression is to resist using the word "like".
Some people use "like" endlessly and I've found it's a sign that they're afraid nobody understands them, so everything they say is an analogy or metaphor to try to relate to the other person.
It could also be because the person is not taking any time to formulate what they want to say. Which leads to a ridiculous amount of redundancy in their story... which makes their story a bit lame..
"So like, I was walking down the street and like it was super hot, like really hot. Then I saw like this weird thing, it was like a big furry thing or something"
A little less "like" a little less metaphor.
"It was pretty hot, I was walking down the street and was shocked to see a bear!"
Some people use "like" endlessly and I've found it's a sign that they're afraid nobody understands them, so everything they say is an analogy or metaphor to try to relate to the other person.
It could also be because the person is not taking any time to formulate what they want to say. Which leads to a ridiculous amount of redundancy in their story... which makes their story a bit lame..
"So like, I was walking down the street and like it was super hot, like really hot. Then I saw like this weird thing, it was like a big furry thing or something"
A little less "like" a little less metaphor.
"It was pretty hot, I was walking down the street and was shocked to see a bear!"
I had similar problem, I had to leave two jobs due to this problem as i was not able to express my thoughts clearly. One of my friend, who was doing MBA from a well-known University in India, suggested me to write Blog posts. And also suggested to share them in the friend circle. So i did the same. Soon, my friends started to comment on the posts, this helped me to learn about how to convey my thoughts in simpler way to anybody. Also i learnt that, a simple sentence works best rather than complicating it with selecting a range of words to say a simple thing to someone.
I can add to this that some languages have an active and passive voice to express oneself. Clear thoughts are expressed and experienced by the listener/reader by using an active voice.
Example: I have written a comment on HN and I have been feeling good ever since. (passive) vs. I wrote a comment on HN and I feel good ever since. (active.)
The active sentence is both clean and concise.
Any English native speakers please chime in with better examples. (:
Example: I have written a comment on HN and I have been feeling good ever since. (passive) vs. I wrote a comment on HN and I feel good ever since. (active.)
The active sentence is both clean and concise.
Any English native speakers please chime in with better examples. (:
You're right that the second sentence is simpler, but both of the sentences are in the active voice. (The difference between the two is in verb tense: the first sentence is in "present perfect" tense and the second sentence is in "simple present" tense. The first sentence places more emphasis on the writing as a completed action than the second sentence.)
A better example of the passive voice here is "A comment on HN was written by me".
Here's a guide to the difference between passive and active voice: https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/passive-voice/
...and a guide to verb tenses: https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/introduction-to-verb-t...
A better example of the passive voice here is "A comment on HN was written by me".
Here's a guide to the difference between passive and active voice: https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/passive-voice/
...and a guide to verb tenses: https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/introduction-to-verb-t...
Thanks! I learned a lot from those links. (:
The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. (4th edition) helped a lot. (Note: English is my second language.)
Looks like a gem! I will definitely read it. Thank you!
This is the definitive text. Read it many times.
Came here to recommend this book.
Keep a journal where you write out any ideas you have (about anything). It allows you too audit yourself in real time and makes it harder to hand wave.
In a nutshell...read Zinsser's On Writing Well! So much great advice in it.
Also keeping a diary for 25 years helped me, I think. And reading a lot of great (non-fiction prose) writers: e.g. GK Chesterton, Santayana, Bertrand Russell, RL Stevenson, William James, Emerson, Hazlitt, etc.
Also keeping a diary for 25 years helped me, I think. And reading a lot of great (non-fiction prose) writers: e.g. GK Chesterton, Santayana, Bertrand Russell, RL Stevenson, William James, Emerson, Hazlitt, etc.
Everybody here is focusing on the writing part of the equation but that is not the most important one.
Expressing a thought is just the last step of communication.
Only organized and correctly structured thoughts can be expressed in a clear way.
If you can’t communicate well it is an indication that you are not thinking as well as you think you are, because if you were, you wouldn’t be having problems.
It is fair to say that most people nowadays still don’t know how to write or read. Illiteracy is still a huge problem in the whole world. They might know how to write a word but they can’t explain what the word is supposed to mean.
I see that everyday. My boss will write that “X team member needs to perform at a higher level”, but can’t, for the love of God, provide a specific example or direction as to what that means.
I’m pretty sure she thinks she knows in her head what it means. The problems is she doesn’t. If she knew she would be able to clearly communicate what her expectations are and how X member is not meeting them.
My recommendation is to stop thinking about how to improve the output of your thought process and focus on improving the content.
All great presenters will work months on prepping the message that they want to convey. Every word will be carefully selected because every word has a different specific meaning. That’s why we think people are great at writing or speaking. They are great at that as well, but above all else they are great thinkers.
Expressing a thought is just the last step of communication.
Only organized and correctly structured thoughts can be expressed in a clear way.
If you can’t communicate well it is an indication that you are not thinking as well as you think you are, because if you were, you wouldn’t be having problems.
It is fair to say that most people nowadays still don’t know how to write or read. Illiteracy is still a huge problem in the whole world. They might know how to write a word but they can’t explain what the word is supposed to mean.
I see that everyday. My boss will write that “X team member needs to perform at a higher level”, but can’t, for the love of God, provide a specific example or direction as to what that means.
I’m pretty sure she thinks she knows in her head what it means. The problems is she doesn’t. If she knew she would be able to clearly communicate what her expectations are and how X member is not meeting them.
My recommendation is to stop thinking about how to improve the output of your thought process and focus on improving the content.
All great presenters will work months on prepping the message that they want to convey. Every word will be carefully selected because every word has a different specific meaning. That’s why we think people are great at writing or speaking. They are great at that as well, but above all else they are great thinkers.
I've learned a lot by watching keynote speakers, or TED talks. The delivery of some of the speakers is exceptional on how they tie an idea together.
Read books of different authors on different topics. Try to be acknowledged in many themes.
I always try to give good advice.