There aren’t many things more frustrating than not being able to get your point across. You know what you want to say, and yet, when you try to communicate it, it comes out as an incoherent, rambling monologue. 

Ros Atkins, the BBC’s analysis editor and author of The Art Of Explanation knows firsthand that identifying and communicating what we want to say is an art form that’s well worth learning – and the millions who have watched his explainers of the biggest news events would agree. 

Using all of the skills that he’s picked up from working in high-pressure newsrooms, Atkins tells the Stylist Live audience the steps we need to take to express ourselves calmly, succinctly and with serious impact.

“This might seem obvious, but you’ve got to work out precisely what you want to say in order to say it successfully. When I’m reporting, and in lots of other situations, there are three lists I make in order to help me achieve this.

I ask myself: what information do I have? What’s the information that, if I don’t pass it on, I’ll be really fed up about? And what do I want to happen as a result? It’s a really effective way of being clear about what you want to say.”

“I hardly say anything out loud for the first time when it matters. If the first time you say something is when it matters, then you’re taking a chance. I can’t tell you how powerful practice is. I remember covering the Dutch elections a few years ago, and I’d done all my homework on different politicians, and when I went on live TV – the BBC around the world – and I started talking, it just wasn’t coming out properly. It wasn’t because I hadn’t done my research; it was because I hadn’t taken the time to say it out loud.” 

“Take simplicity seriously. If we can get what we want to get across in as simple a form as possible, lots of good things happen. The first is it’s easier to consume. If it’s easier to consume, people are more likely to consume it. Secondly, if it’s easier to understand, people are more likely to act on it.” 

Images: shot by Farheenxo