Improving your communication
Know the techniques to perfect your communication.
A good speech is not improvised: it is built.
Course outline
| Step | Focus |
|---|---|
| 1. Prepare your communication | Audience, structure, support material, equipment, practice. |
| 2. Master your communication | Manage stress, key tips, stay humble. |
| 3. Pedagogy – Reminders | Andragogy, ethical principles, preparing a session. |
1. Prepare your communication
Identify the audience
First, two questions:
- Who am I going to address?
- What is the purpose of my intervention?
The answers determine an adapted vocabulary and an adapted outfit.
Structure your intervention
To structure the substance, use the CAP method:
| Constat (Observation) | → | What is it about? (the problem) |
| Analysis | → | A demonstration linking causes and consequences, illustrating the point. |
| Proposal | → | The logical outcome of the demonstration. |
Prepare your presentation support
- Colour choice: avoid garish colours.
- Limit the text.
- Write large enough, in a legible font.
- Watch out for spelling mistakes!
"A picture is worth a thousand words." → favour key elements and visuals.
Prepare your equipment
Anticipate every equipment question:
- Does my USB stick work and does it contain my support file?
- Will I have the equipment needed to project my slideshow?
- Will all the people involved be able to sit down?
- Is my slideshow compatible with the IT environment used? (all the more important in a non-gendarmerie environment).
Go to the site of the intervention in advance to check that the equipment works properly.
Practise!
Practising lets you check your intervention and master it (rehearsing out loud, video recording, rehearsing in front of a test audience).
2. Master your communication
Manage your stress
Stress is to be taken into account but must not paralyse you.
Tip 1 — Motivate yourself!
You are the expert: people came to hear what you had to say, and you prepared your intervention carefully.
Tip 2 — Breathe!
A few breathing exercises help limit stress. Good breathing eases stage fright and restores maximum comfort.
Key tips
Non-verbal communication cues to keep in mind during the intervention:
Stay humble
Faced with a question you do not have the answer to, three possible stances:
- "I will look for the answer and give it to you afterwards." — own up to not knowing.
- "Does anyone here know the answer?" — hand it back to the group.
- "And you, what do you think?" — useful in the event of a trick question where the author already knows the answer perfectly well.
3. Pedagogy – Reminders
Andragogy
Andragogy is the art of teaching adults. An adult retains far more through practice than through reading:
People retain about 10% of what they read versus 90% of what they do: get your learners to take part.
Ethical principles
- Master the subject.
- Seek the buy-in of the learners.
- Respect the learners.
- Set the objectives: "By the end of the session, you will be able to…"
Prepare a session
Standard outline of a presentation
| Part | Content |
|---|---|
| Introduction | What is it about? · Motivation and announcement of the plan |
| Development | Part 1 · Part 2 |
| Conclusion | Summary · Recap of the key points (check questions) · Opening |
In summary
- Prepare: identify the audience, structure (CAP), polish the support, test the equipment, practise.
- Master: manage your stress (motivate yourself, breathe), mind the non-verbal, stay humble.
- Deliver: favour practice (andragogy), respect the learners, structure the session.
A good speech = work + applying techniques.