December 9, 2025
Every time you speak, people decide. They either lean in or check out.
And the difference isn’t IQ. It’s how you articulate your thoughts. If you can’t communicate clearly, people just won’t trust you, even when you’re right.
So, here are the five mistakes quietly destroying your clarity and what to do instead.
Imagine walking into an airport duty-free shop and there the sales guy comes up, smiles, grabs a bottle of perfume and first sprays it on your left arm. You’re like, “Nice, cool.” But then he takes your right arm, sprays it on there as well. Then he sprays it on your neck, on your head. Ten seconds later, you have ten perfume bottles all over it. You’re like, “Whoa whoa, this is way too much.” And you just run towards the exit.
That is how most people communicate. They spray and pray. They throw out every idea, every fact, every detail and hope something sticks. It does feel thorough to them, but to their listeners, it feels like chaos. They can’t tell what’s important.
Overexplaining is underdeciding. Your job isn’t to say everything. It’s to decide what matters the most.
The Fix: The Spotlight Technique
Great speakers focus their listeners’ attention. They pick up a spotlight and they shine it on this one thing. You’ll hear them say things like, “If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s this.” or “The biggest mistake leaders make is X, Y, and Z” or “The number one reason this failed is X, Y, and Z.” That kind of phrasing tells your audience, listen here, this part matters.
So don’t spray your message everywhere. Pick one thing and shine the light there.
A few weeks ago I was coaching a manager who wanted to sound more articulate. So I asked, “imagine your boss asked you why sales are dropping. What would you say on that?” She went, “Well, there are a few things. The economy is unstable. Marketing hasn’t adjusted yet. And the rollout didn’t go well. And wait, there’s more things.”
Right in that moment, I stopped her and I said, “Hold on. I feel like you just dumped a box of IKEA parts on the table, but you forgot to show me the picture on the box.” On this, she laughed, but she got it. She didn’t sound unclear because she didn’t know. She sounded unclear because she didn’t show the structure.
The Fix: Structure First
Before you explain anything, tell people how it fits together. Say upfront:
“There are two main reasons for this.”
“It comes down to three steps.”
“This includes a short-term issue and a long-term issue.”
That one line changes everything. It tells your listener, I can relax. I know where this is going. Because once they know the path, they can follow your thinking.
To practice, pick any random topic such as should humans live on Mars or should pineapple be on pizza and then answer without preparation but using the structure first rule.
Say, yes, pineapple should be on pizza for three reasons. Reason one, boom, you go into that. Now, sure, at this point, you might have no idea what those three reasons are, but say it anyway because usually your brain will fill in the blanks. So, over time, you start thinking in order and not in chaos.
Average communicators speak in ideas. Great communicators, they speak in images. One of my workshops, a woman began her presentation and she said something like, “Our new strategy focuses on improving cross-functional collaboration and enhancing the operational efficiency.” I stopped her. Whoa, whoa, you sound smart, but I have no idea what you just said. So I asked, “Hey, if I were 10 years old, how would you explain that to me?”
She thought for a moment, then said, “Right now it’s like we’re running a busy restaurant, but the chefs aren’t talking. Marketing is already serving the dish. Engineering is still chopping the onions. We just need everyone cooking the same recipe.” Boom. Everyone in the room just got it. Now it made sense.
The Fix: Show, Don’t Tell
Don’t just tell people your idea. Show it. Bring it to life with a simple analogy. An analogy is where you compare the new thing to a familiar thing.
So take this sentence: We need to improve the customer experience. Well, that sounds pretty vague right now. How can you make it visual? You could say something like, “It is like we’ve built this beautiful hotel, but in that hotel, the guests actually have to carry their own luggage up the stairs.” Suddenly, people see it, they remember it, and they feel it. People don’t remember concepts, they remember pictures.
In my early 20s, I showed up to every conversation with that wrong mindset. I’d walk into meetings thinking, “All right, this is my moment. I need to sound smart.” And did it help? No, not at all. In fact, it did the opposite. The more I tried to impress, the more nervous I got, the faster I spoke, and the less sense I made. My sentences got longer, I stumbled over all those words, and my message got lost at the end.
That’s what happens when you’re stuck in impress mode. And when your brain is busy managing your image, it can’t think clearly.
The Fix: Switch to Express Mode
Great communicators, they don’t try to sound smart. They try to make you understand. In express mode, your focus flips from you to them. You’re not asking, “How do I sound?” You’re asking, “How can I make this simple and helpful for them?”
The easiest way to switch to express mode is to set a positive intention before you speak. You can tell yourself, “This isn’t about me. It’s about helping them. I don’t have to get it right. I just have to start the conversation. I’m here to give. I’m here to have fun.” When you set that intention, you stop performing and you start connecting.
This is the most common mistake I see in communication. People make a great point and then they ruin it in the last five seconds. They say something at the end like, “So yeah, I guess that’s it. Thanks for listening.” That’s the fade out. People finish in a way that makes them sound unsure. But that’s a problem because that last sentence is what people remember.
The Fix: Finish Strong
If you want to sound more articulate than 99% of people, finish strong. Great communicators, they don’t just stop talking. They land their message. And you can do that by summing up your point in one clear line. You can use phrases like:
“The key takeaway is X, Y, and Z.”
“If there’s one thing I want you to remember, it’s X, Y, and Z.”
After that, pause. Don’t add, “Um, hopefully that made sense,” or “So yeah.” No, just stop. Let the silence do the work. Because that pause after a clear final line is often the most powerful moment of all.
Articulating your thoughts clearly isn’t a talent. It’s a skill you can build. Pick any of the techniques that you learned today and try them out, and notice how they change the way you communicate. Today we focus on clarity. But the best communicators, they don’t just speak clearly, they also tell stories that stick.
If you want to learn how to tell those unforgettable stories, check out this next article where I share some of my favorite storytelling techniques. See you there.
Enjoy.
P.S. Want to become a stronger communicator?
Here are two ways I can support you:
👉 Want to tell more engaging stories? Join our next Storytelling Workshop.
👉 Want to speak with confidence and clarity? Check out our Communication Skills Training.
Both are fun, practical, and designed to help you grow fast.
Are you ready to transform your storytelling skills?
Discover how your storytelling skills score and uncover useful insights to help you become a charismatic storyteller:
