Are you finding it challenging to lead effectively
because everybody has difference in perspectives
and somehow it's difficult
for you to create buy-in for the solution that you want to propose?
Or are you finding it really difficult to express
what the solution is, and only to find that the powers that be don't agree with your rationality,
even though you genuinely believe in your solution.
Well, if you have experienced any one of these things,
then this video is for you. I'm answering one of the key
questions that my clients have been asking me
and some viewers as well have been asking me when it comes to,
how do you articulate the problem effectively?
Right? Having this skill in articulating
the problem is key if you want to solve the solution for them,
if you want to solve the problem for them. And to be selected for the job. Right. Albert
Einstein once said that, if he was given one hour to solve important problems,
he would spend 59 minutes
just identifying the problem and having clarity around it.
And here's what I say. That's what Albert Einstein says.
This is what I Dr. Grace Lee says.
I say that, your ability to solve the problem
and to be selected for the expert to be that solution to the problem will depend will be directly
proportional to your ability to be able to articulate the problem.
So, that's why I want to share with you in this video 5 key steps on how it's a
process on how you can effectively articulate the problem
and be selected for the job.
The process that I'm about to share with you is effective no matter who you are articulating
the problem in front of and
what sort of problem you want to solve with your expertise.
And the essence of why this process is going to be effective
for you is because the real reason behind articulating
the problem effectively is that people will automatically believe that you have the solution
for them.
If you can articulate the problem better than they can, right.
And I want you to take a moment to think about a time in your life,
where you, for example, you had this pain somewhere maybe under your shoulder.
For example, you had this pain in your shoulder and you had no idea where it came from.
It just came out of the blue
or some sort of a pain point
and it was a very specific type of pain, the frequency
and the quality of it and the way that the pain shot down your elbow a little bit
and maybe it went through to your second,
the second two fingers of your hand
and it was a very unique experience and it happened periodically throughout the day.
Now, you could go and see a doctor when it comes to understanding
what are my treatments? What are my options? And what are the causes of it?
However, if you met a stranger
who is able to articulate very clearly exactly
what you were going through and they were able to articulate it right down to the frequency,
the duration, and the quality of the pain and they were to,
they were able to explain it and describe it better than you, wouldn't
you agree that you would really listen to them if they said here's what I did,
here's what I did in that situation? And that's why articulating
the problem is more important than solving it.
And it’s the essence of Albert Einstein's
quote, when he said that he would spend 15 minutes,
59 minutes out of that 60 minutes identifying and clarifying the problem.
Right? So the essence of the process that I'm about to share with you.
It works if you understand the principle of human behaviors that they will lend you their ear
if you can articulate the problem better than they can.
Let's face it. Most people aren't sufficiently rigorous
when it comes to identifying and articulating problem.
And the reason why is because most people just want to dive right
in and solve it so that they can quickly generate the results.
And I'm not talking just about instant gratification,
but there is a general three out there that the sooner we work on
the problem, the sooner we get to a solution. Right,
and we don't spend a lot of time thinking things through and as a result of that,
we have a lot of missed opportunities or we take on the things that waste resources time,
right, finances and so on and even it could be misaligned with our strategy and I can prove it.
For example, haven't you ever pursued a project with such rigor
and such enthusiasm only to find that
it was going in a path later on you found out it was going down a path that it should not have gone down.
It should have gone in the other direction instead? Or have you noticed that or
have you ever pursued other projects tried to solve particular problems,
only to find that the result of the solution that you provided doesn't really solve
the original problem that was posed in the first place?
But these are key examples that could have happened and many others as well
that show the importance of sufficient rigor
when it comes to identifying and articulating the problem before
you set down the path on solving
it. So I'm going to offer a process that you could implement on your own,
in any situation that requires an understanding and buy-in from others.
And this process is based on a foundation that I have that I've come up with,
in terms of my three-pronged approach to effective communication
and I call it the Golden Triangle of effective communication.
And so, here's the three prongs, the three prongs are, audience, context,
and message, right. So let's talk about audience.
Audience is really important and we understand this when it comes to knowing your audience,
right? What are who is, who is it that you need buy-in from?
Who is it that has a particular need that you're solving their problem
for? And the second one is context and context is understanding the situation,
the environment at hand, and all the different factors that are at play,
that could affect buy-in and understanding.
And finally, the third prong is message.
And that's why it's so important to know your audience
because when you are communicating
and expressing the problem, it's having the right message to audience match
and that creates the buy-in of this
this three-pronged approach, the Golden Triangle is key.
The foundation of the process that I'm about to share.
And I teach this to my clients who are serious about mastering the art of communication.
So before I share my five steps,
my 5 step process to you, I have an opportunity for you if you're curious and also serious
about what is the Golden Triangle?
And how do I implement that foundation? Not just for articulating a problem,
but in any situation where I want to express myself or advocate for myself? Right.
If you desire that coaching
and guidance to teach you how to implement it in your particular situation,
then the opportunity is to work with me in my coaching and my master class.
I teach clients from all around the world. How do you implement this Golden Triangle in no matter
what situation?
So if you're serious about this and working with me to achieve these meaningful goals,
then the link on this video in the description on this video will be a link to apply
for my master class.
And this is an opportunity just for if there's nothing for sale.
When you click on the link it’s just literally a opportunity to book a call to
speak to myself or a member of my team to explore
whether or not this is the right fit
and if it is then we'll let you let you know everything you need to know about the details
and how I'm going to be working with you directly.
So I look forward to talking to you on the inside only
if you're serious about developing and mastering this skill for yourself.
And now, let's go on to talk about the five step process.
It's a beautiful day outside and I thought I would share with you my 5 step process outdoors,
right? So I'm going to share with you,
what is the five steps to be able to go through this process and articulate
the problem clearly every single time. I now
share with you the five steps using the acronym,
Focus. F O C U S.
So each of the steps is going to start with those letters of the word
focus. Starting with step number 1 is f,
which is to find the need, their
need. So when I say find their need I mean their true need, right?
Which helps to uncover the root of the problem.
Not just the symptoms of the problem
or what they believe the problem is but genuinely what is the root problem.
Which then is will then point you in the direction towards what is the core need, the true need.
And the best way to figure this out is to ask questions,
out of genuine curiosity, care, and concern. And this will help you to get to the root of what it is.
Continuously following through with the the next question,
the next question, beginning with what you already know and then you just let what
you know grow through a series of asking curious questions that lead down to five whys, Asking,
why is that a problem for you? And why is that a problem for
you until you uncover the real need.
And this is important because at the end of the five process,
you're going to be able to have a problem statement,
the genuine raw and clear problem statement that articulates the problem clearly
and it’s going to follow this format.
It's going to sound like in general it’s going to sound
like we are looking for X so that we can achieve
y. And success is going to be measured by Z.
So x, y, z are going to be the parameters
you're going to uncover in this questioning process when you focus on their needs.
And while you are focusing on their needs it’s also important to understand and uncover,
why is this need important? Why is this problem
a really big problem right now? Why is it urgent?
And for example, you might want to also figure out is this problem solving this problem right now,
in alignment with their goals and in alignment with their priorities?
So once you have found their need focused on the need,
the root need of it so that you can have that statement that I mentioned earlier.
Then we move on to step number two.
Step number two, following the acronym FOCUS is step number two,
which is outline their clear
desires, their outcomes that they desire.
So what does that outcome look like exactly the desired end state?
What does it look like? Who stands to benefit benefit from it
once it is solved? Once the problem is solved,
what is success going to look like? What is it going to feel like that's really important.
Not just what we're going to achieve for. How do we want to feel at the end
once we have achieve these outcomes. Once this problem is solved.
How do we want to feel in the end? And who else will it benefit?
This is collateral benefits instead of collateral damage.
It's collateral benefits because even once a problem gets solved.
Yes, there will be people who will directly benefit from it.
But as a result of those people directly benefiting from it,
there's going to be others who benefit from it in collaborative as well.
So who are these individuals who will benefit?
And what is the outcome that we want to create?
And once you have this clear statement,
you know, it will it should create some sort of tear of inspiration that
yes. This is what we're going to work towards. It is in alignment with what we value
the most, our top priorities.
So that's why it's going to feel very aligned, congruent on the inside out,
a tear of inspiration. So that is Step
number two, it’s outline their desired
outcome. Following the acronym FOCUS. Step number 3 is C,
which is contextualiz the problem. Contextualize the word
contextualized means to put it into context.
So that's why it's important
when you want to articulate the problem to put it in a context that they will understand
and the best context to put it in that they will
definitely understand is what have they tried,
and why didn't it work? Because chances are,
this problem has been on the forefront of their minds for some time now.
And they've tried a bunch of things. They've done some things up until now,
this is the moment, they could they realize or became aware of this problem and why it is a problem.
They will jump into action and try things.
So what are all the different things did they try and why do they believe it didn't work?
What was missing? Was it resources?
Was it external knowledge? Was it wisdom? Was it
an application? Was it a process? Was it a system for scale?
What was missing, and why didn't what they tried work?
And this is key, contextualizing the problem,
because now once you have put it into that context,
they will understand. They will feel it.
This is when they become emotionally connected to why they must solve the problem
now, all the consequences to not solving, they’re emotionally connected to,
this needs to have a solution. We need to move now. And this is this increases
the likelihood that they will take action.
And to buy into the solution that you are about to present,
it increases their sense of urgency.
And that is an important key to producing change is having a sense of urgency,
right? So, that's step number three, contextualizing
the problem. Following the acronym, once again,
FOCUS, U which is step
number four is to uncover the resources.
What resources do they have available? What resources
do they have right now? And
what resources are you going to identify that is required to
solve this problem that don't exist yet?
So, you're covering existing and non-existent yet resources.
So, when it comes to resources, the key of why this is important
is because eventually there will be manpower and capital.
And so on that is necessary to implement the solution
you are about to provide after you've articulated the problem and had that problem statement.
So this is where you want to uncover a little bit more of what is the time and money resources,
a little bit in terms of what is required the resources that we are going to,
what resources they are willing
to devote to solving this problem.
And this can at the same time, uncover
what are their current constraints? Because it's possible right now,
that as you go through this fourth step that there are certain resources that maybe
there is hesitation or that it might take some time
or some creativity in order to come up with those resources and that identifies
certain bottlenecks and constraints
and therefore might need need you to be able to articulate a certain timeline
or expand the time horizons for the solution to your problem.
Right. So, that is step number four is to uncover their resources.
And then we're going to move on to step number five.
So far in summary what we have uncovered was f o c u s, the five step process.
Step number one is f, which is focus on their needs. Step
number 2 is O, which is outline their desired end
state. Step number 3 is C,
which is contextualize the problem.
Step number four is U, which was uncover the resources and finally step number five,
this step is to state the problem.
The key is to state the problem with all the understanding
and the context that you have just uncovered because you're going to come up
and when you articulate the problem is going to be using that format that I shared earlier,
in terms of, we are looking for X so that we could achieve
y. And success is going to be measured by Z.
That is the ultimate statement. So you're expanding the three parameters,
x, y, z in the context that you have uncovered throughout the whole process.
And making it into a articulate problem statement.
And as you are articulating to your audience, you're going to
be able to understand who is my audience.
And what is their particular language,
the context that they communicate with and maybe what is the particular format that they desire,
and that they understand the presentation to be in.
This goes right back to at the beginning of this video,
where I shared with you, the the three-pronged approach of the Golden Triangle,
which is my formula for effective communication.
Right. All throughout this video, I shared with
you the five steps where you are understanding
uncovering the audience, knowing who they are, the context which is all the question,
the five steps, and then the message which leads to this,
the problem statement, the statement of the problem that follows that context. Right.
So if you have done this right,
the problem statement will be completely in alignment with their highest objectives,
their mission, and their priorities
that they are setting forward.
And when you state it after you have stated that whole problem statement, check in
with them at the end by asking them something like well,
is that are we on the same page that I get everything,
right? Or am I missing anything?
And this is going to be very inspiring to hear that summarized
and to hear it articulated in a way that's better than articulating the problem.
And if it is all done right, and you ask them,
did I get this right? Or am I missing anything? What you're going to hear and return is,
oh my gosh, that is exactly right.
You got everything and I couldn't have said it better myself.