I was talking to a brilliant woman this morning.  She is a legend (in the very best sense of that word) in the Real Estate business in the Dallas area.  She has more energy than any 10 of us (we met at 7:30; if you know anything about the “typical” real estate person, early mornings are frequently not their favorite time).

As we talked about what real estate professionals need to do their job better, I realized, again, the wisdom of an old piece of advice.  It has to do with any presentation, almost any conversation, in which there is a message you want to get across.  This applies to a leader and his/her meetings with the people to be led.  This has to do with a presentation to a potential client, such as when a real estate agent goes to that all important “listing appointment,” in order to have the privilege of selling the house.  This has to do with most business conversations.

Here is the advice:

• Tell them what you are going to tell them.
• Then, tell them what you are telling them.
• Then, tell them what you told them.

This is so old, so “commonly known,” that we think we follow this advice.  But, most of the time, we do not.  And because we do not, we think we have communicated clearly – and we have not.

Here are some key reminders – start your conversation/presentation (in a speech, this comes immediately after your “hook/attention getter”) with a clear “this is what I have to say” summary of what is coming next.

Then, you deliver that content.

And then, at the end, you remind your audience, whether an audience of one, or an audience much larger, “this is what I have just said.”

Be redundant… Use repetition.  Make it clear, concise, understandable.  Using Guy Kawasaki’s term, give out “swallowable” pieces of information.

So, yes, as you read and learn and seek to get better at communication – as you learn those words that work, and learn to tell compelling stories; as you seek to be current, contemporary, relevant — never forget to tell them what you are going to tell them; and then, tell them; and then, tell them what you told them.

After all, you never want a presentation to end with these thoughts in the mind of your audience – “I never could quite figure out what he/she was saying…”