How to Sound Smart and Memorable, Anytime

You don't have to memorize what you're saying. But you do need a structure that helps your ideas stick.

- MATT ABRAHAMS

What would you do if you had to jump in unexpectedly and give a presentation with only a few minutes' notice? Sarah Zeitler, marketing manager at a publicly traded manufacturing conglomerate, found herself in exactly this situation. She'd organized a videoconference for 200 people and when one of her speakers didn't show up, she had to fill that slot herself. How? "I took a deep breath," she says, and then she deployed a structure that I taught her. It's called "What - So What - Now What."

We all, in some way, need to spontaneously-whether it's like Sarah in that meeting, or just when a conversation takes an unexpected turn. And speak strange as it sounds, you can prepare for spontaneity-not by pre-scripting an interaction, but simply by creating some boundaries and habits that increase your chance of success. One of the most important steps is to think about structure and how to design your messages, which is exactly what Sarah did.

I'll get back to the "What - So What - Now What" structure in a moment, but let's first focus on why structure is so important in the first place.

Today I'm a lecturer of strategic communication at Stanford Graduate School of Business. But I first learned the value of structure as a student when I worked as a campus tour guide. My bosses trained me to set expectations and to provide visitors with a clear path or direction. When I started my tours, I didn't simply say, "Hi, I'm Matt. Let's go," and start sharing whatever information struck my fancy. Rather, I started our discussion by outlining for visitors a sense of where we would go, and by extension, where we wouldn't be going. In the process, I answered common questions, such as how long the tour is and whether we'd take any breaks.