Speak Up. Speak Clearly!

I'm out of town for a work event and went to Chipotle to grab dinner. As I went through the line, I noticed one common theme between all three people who helped me: nobody could annunciate or speak in a tone audible enough to hear. I either nodded because I thought I heard what they said, asked for clarification, or pretended I didn't hear them until they spoke slightly louder.

Does anyone know how to communicate these days?

Communication is the ability to actually speak in a tone and level that is acceptable to exchange words and information back and forth with people. That's key. It's also a skill we take for granted.

If you can't openly speak and annunciate with people, then you can't tell your story — and if you can't tell your story, you won't go very far.

This is the part almost nobody wants to hear, because it forces you to look at how you show up in the world. Your voice is your presence. It is the first impression you make before your resume, before your talent, before your effort even has a chance to register.

When you mumble your way through interactions or speak so softly that people have to guess what you said, you shrink yourself without realizing it. You make people work to understand you, and when people have to work to understand you, they stop trying pretty quickly. Clarity is a gift and confusion is a tax.

In your career, this matters more than you think. You can be brilliant and strategic and full of potential, but none of that matters if nobody can understand you. The meeting where you stay quiet. The presentation where you swallow your words. The interview where your voice barely reaches the back of the room. These moments stack.

Strong communication does not mean being loud or theatrical. It means speaking with intention so the world does not have to guess what you mean. Speak clearly. Speak confidently. Speak like someone who knows their story is worth hearing. Because the minute you do, people start listening — and everything in your career becomes a little easier from there.