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Direct communication works for you

Are you using direct communication skills at work?

Reports or updates can mean talking about problems, challenges, actions, results, and solutions. Here are a few tips and outlines to keep on track with direct communication skills.

  1. Be direct and explicit, not indirect and implicit. Say what you want to say, and justify it after you do so, not before.
  2. Whatever you are speaking about, no matter the topic or situation, ask yourself what your listeners want to know and understand. What is the main point? What is most important? That’s what you have to tell them.
  3. Don’t start with supporting information, reasons, or details. Provide the main point first, the most important idea that you want to convey.
  4. Your opening statements should communicate the main idea or the most important ideas first.
  5. Be sure that what you say refers to or relates to what came before it. Be sure that your listeners are not asking themselves what you mean by something because you made no reference to it previously.
  6. If you are moving on to new information, be sure to let your listeners know this.
  • PAR – Problem Action Result
  1. Problem: State the problem.
  2. Action: Say what you did or what you are going to do. Keep it short and simple.
  3. Result: Tell your listeners what the result is or what it’s going to be.
  • PAS – Problem Action Solution
  1. Problem: State the problem.
  2. Action: Say what you did or what you are going to do. Keep it short and simple.
  3. Solution: Tell your listeners what the solution is or what it’s going to be.
  • CAR – Challenge Action Result
  1. Challenge: Tell your listeners what the challenge is.
  2. Action: Say what you did or what you are going to do. Keep it short and simple.
  3. Result: Tell your listeners what the result is or what the result is going to be.
  • GAR – Goal Action Result
  1. Goal: State what you want to accomplish or achieve
  2. Action: Say what you did or what you are going to do. Keep it short and simple.
  3. Result: Tell your listeners what the result is or what it’s going to be.

It’s not necessary to justify everything you say or include every detail. If people want more information, they will ask for it. Trust yourself to know and recognize what you need to say. Don’t provide too much information. Be sure you provide the most important information first.