# Two Communication Tips

By [Thinking in Public](https://paragraph.com/@jasonp) · 2024-11-20

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A while ago I did some work with an excellent communications coach. Two things I learned from the coach have really stuck with me, and have become a daily part of how I practice being a more effective communicator. So I thought I would share them with you:

1.  **Finish your sentences**. I have a bad habit of starting a sentence and then interrupting myself because something else has occurred to me. Instead of stutter-starting, I have learned that if I just commit to the sentence I've started, I can almost always get to _all_ of whatever it is I need to say.
    
2.  **Tell shorter stories**. It's tempting to tell longer stories because it feels like I need to add lots of detail for folks to get the point -- or sometimes just because it's fun to talk. But people are smarter than I give them credit for, and have short attention spans. So keeping my stories under two minutes is a constant target for me.
    

These two changes have made a big difference for me.

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*Originally published on [Thinking in Public](https://paragraph.com/@jasonp/two-communication-tips)*