Of course all the help-wanted ads specify �excellent oral and written communications skills required,� even for people who spend their days immersed in numbers. And, of course, most of us think we either don�t need those skills or already possess them aplenty. Well, as it happens, most of us are wrong.

Brandt Johnson, a former investment banker and co-president of Syntaxis, a communication-skills training firm in New York (www.syntaxis.com), says he was staffing his booth at a recent trade show for accountants. One attendee looked at the booth, then looked at Johnson and said, �I don�t do that.�

A rather short-sighted perspective. Because even if you have to explain what you�re working on to just one other person, you have to be able to do it effectively.

�In the last five years, three major industries � law, accounting and investment banking � are feeling the same dynamic,� says Jeff Bannon, the owner of New York-based BusinessTalk, a communications consultancy (www.businesstalkinc.com). �The top firms hire the top people. All are good at numbers. You don�t see a huge difference in the quality of their work. Rather, it�s the way that lawyer, accountant or investment banker can speak with or speak to the clients that is making all the difference. It�s clearly becoming a competitive edge. You want really good human contact, even if it�s over the phone.�

BusinessTalk runs small group sessions in the client�s offices, typically for 10 to 12 people at a time. �The advantages are that they can see each other struggling and see improvement. And the teamwork helps,� Bannon says. More senior employees have the option for one-on-one coaching. �They don�t want to be in a class,� Bannon says.

�PricewaterhouseCoopers and KPMG are doing a lot,� Bannon adds. �They�re spending the time and money. There probably are 25 classes in the New York-metropolitan area as we speak.�

Deutsche Bank�s learning and development group runs programs (with Syntaxis) designed to help its employees improve their verbal skills. Laura Kane, the New York-based vice-president of that group, says employees may either ask to participate or are recommended by their managers. Some of the bank�s clients may even be offered the program as a value add-on to the relationship.

�Everyone thinks they have good communication skills because we talk to people all the time. But everyone can benefit from a consultant with specific experience in the industry in which they work,� Kane says. �The challenge most people encounter is conveying the importance of the product or service they provide. Communication is the key component to that. You might have the best product on the street, but if someone doesn�t understand that, it doesn�t matter.�

If your company won�t train you to get your message across, here are some tips from the pros:

Brandt Johnson, Syntaxis:

• When you�re preparing your presentation, ask yourself who the audience is. What do they understand and know?


• Don�t let your familiarity with the topic drive the presentation to the extent that it becomes a mass of jargon.


• Don�t assume the role of what Johnson calls �Presentation Person,� someone who gives a performance instead of imparting information. �Authenticity can slip away. You�re no longer being who you are, so the presentation becomes less conversational and less genuine, therefore less engaging for the listeners.�


• �In the financial world, there can be a rather high degree of detail and, at times, complexity behind the ideas that people present. As a presenter, one of your responsibilities is to convey the meaning behind what can be a vast amount of data. Don�t give too much information � it gets in the way of what the point can be.�


• �Don�t show everything to the listener in PowerPoint. Raw data is just too much. Don�t use more words and numbers than are optimal for your listeners. You can�t possibly say everything about everything. You have to choose.�


• �Authenticity is the most important element of presenting effectively in any context. It�s at the core of communicating as effectively as you can.�

• �You can�t do it alone. You need at least two or three people at the same level to critique each other.�


• �Be videotaped in a mock setting. Most people are shocked by what they see and hear. People who have crunched numbers their whole professional lives sit in front of a computer screen. Presenting is the complete opposite of what they�ve been paid to do.�

• �Use what I call �sound-biting�: distilling critical information into manageable size without losing the key message, written or oral.�


• �Consider how what you�re saying sounds to someone who�s never heard it before.�