5 Ways to Articulate Better by Reading More (Make The Most Out of What You Read)

Five ways to articulate better by reading more. Have you ever heard the saying that if you want to be more articulate, if you want to be a better speaker, you've got to read more. Well, sometimes you read as much as you can. You read every day, you read more, 10, 20 chapters a day, and you still find yourself not articulating better than you thought it would. And you still find it that, how is it that I'm reading as much as I can? I'm reading a bunch of different topics and I still find that I am not speaking as well as I would like. Well, in this video, I want to share with you five ways how you can make the most out of your reading. How can you make sure that when you read that it is contributing to improvement in your speaking? Because here's the thing, reading helps you to formulate your arguments. It helps you to express your perspectives and share your opinions. And there are foundational pieces to have impact for the greater good. Those things to be able to express yourself, to be able to formulate your arguments and express your perspectives. That is how you have greater impact. And let's face it, at the end of the day, what we want to do when we express ourselves, when we speak, when we speak up, we want to have greater impact. So these are five steps that you can do to make the most out of what you read so you can articulate better and have the impact that you desire. Way number one is not to take notes. Don't take notes on what you read. Isn't that a shocker? This is really uncommon advice. You see, we were trained in school from high school, elementary school, even in college and all the way, even if you go towards a PhD and the higher degree that you go, we've been trained by the public education system that we've got to take notes on what we read. So since elementary school, ever since grade one all the way through to high school and college, we have been writing down what we hear our teachers tell us. When we're in that classroom, we take notes, we write down what we hear, heard that they said, we write down what he or she said, and that is our idea of taking notes. But when you do that, when you write down exactly what you heard, you're just regurgitating what someone else says. And therefore because it's not what you said, it's what they said. That's what makes it hard to memorize someone else's words compared to, compared to knowing exactly what you want to say. So whenever we take notes, it's not about writing down what you heard, right? There's a few things you want to take notes on instead. The first thing is that take notes on what you felt, what you felt as a result of what you read. What did you feel? How did it make you feel? What feelings arose for you? You take notes on what you felt as a result of what you said. The second thing is take notes on what thoughts came up in that moment of reading. What thoughts came up? What did you think of as a result of what you said? And the third thing is what questions arose when you read what you just did in that moment? What questions arose? Write down your questions. And the questions that you write down, the questions that arose in that moment of reading, those questions indicate what gaps are still there. Because there's not a single book or a single article or a single piece that you can read that fills all the gaps in that industry or in that topic. So if you will write down, if you put into practice, writing down these three arenas, it will help to take your reading to the next level and it helps you formulate your unique perspectives. The second way is to practice recalling what you just read. One of the challenges that most people face when it comes to impromptu conversation is that their mind goes blank. How many of you experienced that? In terms of, I've read a bunch of stuff, I know my stuff, but somehow in the moment when someone asks me questions, I just can't recall what I need to say. And I think about it after the fact when it's too late. So practice recalling what you just read immediately after your designated reading period. Maybe you set out to read half an hour before, before you go to work every morning. Maybe you set out to read a half an hour during lunch. After you have designated that reading period, see how much you wouldn't see how much you can recall and recall it in your own words. It's not about regurgitating. It's not about memorizing the paragraphs that you read or the chapter that you just read. It isn't about memorizing like they programmed you to do in school. You see, I strongly believe that the education system has taught us that the definition of intelligence is to be able to read something or attend a class and to be able to say exactly what you just heard and to be able to memorize a bunch of things and regurgitate them on the exam. But real life doesn't work that way. Real life is more about application than gathering more information. And so when you practice this, when you are able to practice what you recall soon after your designated reading period, it's going to help you retain what you read. The third way is to reflect on questions that arose about what you read, right? Remember the first part, you're taking notes on questions that arose in that moment. So now reflect upon them, right? What good does it do to write down the questions if you don't seek the answers to those questions? So reflect on them. It helps you formulate your arguments. Here's some bonus points. If you would research the questions to develop more mature answers to the questions that arose in your mind in that moment, it will give you bonus points. It'll take your knowledge and your expertise a lot further. So that's the third way. The fourth way, right? And by the way, if what I'm saying resonates with you and you can see how these steps will really take your speaking and articulation to the next level, then I want to hear from you. Comment below. Which way, which method are you going to implement today, right? Accountability is really important. I want to hear from you. Comment below which one are you going to implement today? And as well, remember to subscribe to my channel. Every single week I upload new videos on articulation, on speaking. So subscribe to my channel and I'll see you on the next channel on my next video. Okay, so the fourth way, the fourth method, develop a framework to teach what you read. It's not enough to be able to accumulate this knowledge for ourself. If we have this knowledge for ourself, it's clear and it's clear inside of our own head, then other people will not be able to perceive the value you have to bring. Right? So this is about developing. How do you develop a framework to teach it? Because most times we could read something and we know it for ourselves, but we don't teach it. Just because you are knowledgeable in an arena doesn't mean that you can teach it. So how can you develop frameworks to teach what you read? And that will help you to be able to articulate the value of what you have to bring so that you no longer remain invisible. So that's the fourth method. The fifth method is to pursue the next logical step from what you read. You see, an author writes a book or a journalist writes an article or a thought leader writes a piece, a blog article, for example. That single communication in that written form could not possibly cover the expansive industry or the topic that they are trying to cover. And so most people when they are writing or when they are writing a blog or an article, a lot of times you will find incomplete thoughts in there. So practice pursuing what's the next logical step. Once you have learned this topic from this particular book or article, what's the next logical step? What has to follow next in order for you to be more effective in that topic? And when you practice it, it will help you expand your knowledge base. And it also helps you deepen the well that you draw from. A friend of mine once told me, and I have remembered it ever since, he said to me, you never want to dig a well when you're thirsty. Don't wait for you're thirsty until you dig your well. You want to dig your well before you are thirsty so that you have a deep well of knowledge to draw from. And then when you practice that recollection to be able to recall it in the moment, then you'll be unstoppable in when it comes to articulating your thoughts and expressing your ideas and also sharing your arguments. And so for those of you, if you're listening to this and you're serious about taking your career to the next level, or you are serious about articulating the value you have to bring because you're an entrepreneur and you want to sell your products and services, then I have an invitation for you. Below this video, there is a link and that is a link for you to apply to receive the professional coaching and mentorship for me. This is not for you if you are searching for the next quick fix or you are searching for a job right now, or if you just want to be better in social settings, that's not for you. This is for you. If you are serious about taking your career or your entrepreneurial ventures to that next level, and you know that you need to be an effective communicator to make that happen, then if that is you, then I invite you to click the link below and apply to see if you qualify to work with me as your mentor to take your speaking and your articulation to the next level. I'll see you on the inside.