‘You win the match before you run onto the field.’ Do you believe that this sporting maxim applies to speaking?

Do you take time to plan what you are going to say before and during meetings, interviews and telephone calls?

Has anyone found anything you have said or written in the last week to be lacking in clarity?

Have you taken steps to become a clear thinker?

Which of these statements better describes you?

‘He/she can make the complicated sound simple.’

‘He/she tends to turn even the simplest matter into something that is difficult and complicated.’

Are you an enthusiastic, interesting and lively speaker?

(Tick the no box if the following words have been used about you, or anything you have said or written, in the last year: dull, boring, lifeless, lacking creative spark, monotonous, flat or pedestrian.)

Do you think it is difficult to relax and be yourself when you are communicating?

Have you a reputation for making concise oral contributions and writing succinct letters or memos?

Do you find that you are beginning to enjoy the art of communication?