1. Be clear.

This is the golden rule for all communicators. What is clarity? A clear sky is one free of clouds, mists and haze. With reference to speech it means a complete freedom from any form of confusion and hence communicating something that is easy to grasp and understand. Being clear is not primarily a matter of your sentences or words, it is a product of your mind. As an inner principle, it starts at source, with the thoughts in your head.

2. Be prepared.

Preparation calls for active, conscious deliberation and efforts before the action happens. To be unprepared, by contrast, means that you have not thought about or made any attempt at readying yourself for what you know you may or will have to face. You are like a football team that never trains or plans before its matches.

3. Be simple.

Don’t put off your listeners by offering them something that is unnecessarily complicated or intricate. But don’t oversimplify or talk down to your audience, even if they happen to be children.

4. Be vivid.

Make what you say come alive! This graphic or colourful quality springs from the commitment, interest or enthusiasm in the mind and heart of you, the communicator. But it has to be reflected in your language as well.

5. Be natural.

Be natural or, if you prefer it, be yourself – your best self. What you say and how you say it should reflect your own personality.

6. Be concise.

Be economical with your words and other people’s time. Less is more.