A few times in my life, I have been privileged to be described as articulate in my speech. My response has always been…” Oh, really? Thank you!”.

The “Oh, really” is not rhetoric on my part… this is because I have always wondered what it is that motivates some people to think that I am articulate, especially that I think that I am still a student of sorts when it comes to delivering my thoughts.

The “Aha!” moment came to me yesterday. It dawned upon me that in my sub conscious, I have developed a model to measure the quality of my delivery and when I receive compliments, I start to reflect on whether I have checked the boxes in the model.

After mining my subconscious and moving the model nearer to my conscious, the acronym S.M.A.R.T appeared through the clouds.

The acronym is well known to me (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timebound), and it is one of the parameters that defines a strategic plan and its implementation.

In articulation, it is my humble view that principles inherent in the S.M.A.R.T model would apply.

Before you make a contribution or presentation to your audience, have you applied your mind to what exactly you are delivering and can you sum it up in a sentence? For instance, if your contribution is that the law prescribes a minimum age of majority of a person for purposes of capacity to contract, that is the specific issue.

The measure of that issue in terms of articulation is your grasp of the applicable laws and perhaps citing of decided cases to support your proposition.

It’s important that you assure yourself that the scope of the subject matter you are discussing is achievable by yourself. This entails that you are able to analyze, distinguish and compare relevant issues in the discussion so that you can satisfy your audience.

Is what you are saying realistic or a figment of fantasy that only appeals to you? This entails that you are as practical as possible in your delivery.

Are you conscious of the time allocation for your submission or do you tend to get lost in the pleasure of hearing yourself speak, oblivious of everything and everyone else? Not being able to monitor yourself in this regard, puts you at risk of being perceived as a mere chatterbox and the essence of your delivery is lost.

Just thoughts… let’s share!