A great strategy for clear communication in your English meetings

​Many professionals who speak English as a second language find it difficult to communicate clearly in meetings. At a recent business English session for staff from the Freie Universität, we practised using the Pyramid Principle to improve clarity and structure in workplace communication.
 
Here is a summary:
 
1: Start with your key point 
Often when asking for something or making a suggestion, people spend a lot of time talking about what is wrong currently and then at the end say 'that is why we need to do X'. Using the Pyramid Principle, the opposite is true. Your first line is 'We need to do X'. 
 
2: Split your argument very clearly into the different reasons
To keep your argument easy to follow, when preparing think about the distinct reasons behind your request/decision. Each reason then forms one paragraph. Start the paragraph by stating the reason.
 
3: Add Supporting Evidence
Once you have your distinct reasons, you add supporting evidence to back these reasons up or explain them further. This could be experience, data, facts or examples.

 
If you feel that people don't listen to you in your English meetings, or fail to understand the point you want to make, next time try following the Pyramid Principle and see if it makes a difference.