Employ these proven strategies and you'll be able express your ideas more accurately and powerfully than ever before.

1. Make sure the other person can “see” what you mean.

Try this mental task - build a picture in your mind of a ‘building.' It's an impossible task, of course, because the word "building" is too general, too vague for it to be represented by an image in your mind. You can't picture vagueness.

Now imagine a thatched cottage, surrounded by a pretty garden and bathed in sunlight. That's much easier to picture, because the description is concrete and specific.

Messages and points that create pictures in the other person's mind - or take on some other form of clarity - have more impact and influence. One term that's been used to describe this quality is ‘imaginability' - a measure of how hard or easy a description or explanation is to imagine or visualise.

So try to avoid off-the-shelf, generalised descriptions and clichés. Which of the following two statements has more meaning built into it?

A. "I felt let down by her. She did things that just weren't right."

B. "I felt betrayed. I really trusted her, only to discover that she'd been playing a game with me all along. I'd pour out my problems to her - I thought in confidence - but then she'd talk about me behind my back."

The first is a statement of fact, but is vague and lacks life. The second is not just a fact but a story that gives life to the fact. The details are explicit and precise.

Do people like listening to you? Do they get caught up in what you're saying? If not, perhaps you need to find ways of injecting more life into your conversations.

2. Introduce your points with a headline.

Winston Churchill used the same three-part formula for nearly all his epoch-defining speeches, and you can easily adapt the same idea for conversational use. Essentially his formula was, “Tell ‘em what you're going to say, say it, then remind 'em what you've said.”

Step one is particularly useful in everyday communication. Think of it as a headline, which announces what you're going to be saying. Here's an example. Janet, who buys office equipment for her company, is talking to her supplier about an order.

“I'd want to explain why I need to change some of the delivery dates before we sign the final agreement.”

The headline gives the supplier advance warning of what's coming - which helps him makes sense of Janet's subsequent points. Jigsaw puzzles are much easier to do if you have a good idea of what the finished article looks like. Here's another headline in action. Dario and his sister Carmen are debating how to make sure their elderly mother gets a holiday. Dario kicks of with a headline.

“I think what's most important is that mum chooses the kind of holiday she wants herself.

Now he's made his point clear up front, he can go on to justify and strengthen it. He explains his reasoning - it will give her something interesting to do, and it will be good for her sense of dignity.

The headline there was the stake in the ground - the main point explicitly stated before being amplified.

For a final example, here's a headline for a story. This time, Carmen is telling Dario about a recent incident in their neighbourhood. She grabs his interest and focuses his attention with a headline.

“Last night, I bumped into one of your old girl friends. You'll be amazed at what she's up to.”

How could Dario resist a headline like that?

3. Two magic words that will bring what you say to life - for example.

A guaranteed way to make your points come to life is to pepper what you say with examples. It's very difficult to use too many examples. They ground what you say in reality. They turn the general into the specific. They transform the conceptual into the actual. Here are some examples (of examples).

“Dan always delivers on what he says. For example, he promised to put me in touch with my old teacher and last night he sent me an email with her address. It must have taken him ages to track her down.”

Examples or instances lend credibility to ideas, which otherwise might seem to lofty or theoretical. Here's an example.

“There are good arguments on both sides. For example, if we sell the house now, we'll get a good price, but we'll have to move Jade's school in the middle of term.”

Examples can help you express yourself more clearly, in a more orderly manner.

“I think his latest book is well worth reading. He really makes modern Africa come to life. Let me give you a couple of examples. First of all, he explains what it's really like being a nomad in the 21st century . . .”

Of course, you don't need to say the actual words ‘for example' every time. You can just go straight into giving the example itself.

Cast your mind around your friends, colleagues and relatives. Think of someone who expresses their ideas particularly clearly - for example, someone who's good at giving instructions or explaining complicated issues. The next time you have the chance to observe him or her in action, see how frequently they spice their conversations with examples.

Take me to the TalkWorks Guide to learn more about being a good Explainer/Teller