The Art of 'Blurt'

Often as a knowledge worker you are asked to provide your written opinion on a range of activities or topics. For example over the last year or two I have been asked to provide my perspective of 'Service Delivery Managers', 'Solutions Development in a global environment' and 'Four ways to approaching an organisational change'.

Each of these topics in themselves are quite broad, and could tie me up for ages researching, creating the hypothesis, describing the environment etc... Obviously something I will do (or have someone do) at the appropriate time. What I do find immediately beneficial though, is to simply 'Blurt' out my current perspective on the given topic.

Now by current perspective, I really mean what I know of the topic, the question that has been put to me etc. Keep in mind if you are in this situation they have most probably asked you as you have some 'Knowledge' on the topic. To Blurt simply write, type or use whatever method suits you best to get it out of your head and in front of you, your peers and the person posing the question.

Doing this has a number of benefits, the primary benefit of the 'Blurt' is that you are simply acknowledging it is nothing more than your initial thoughts, and ideas that are there for scrutiny, improvement and challenge. It impersonalises the content and allows everyone to understand it as something that all involved can change.

Interestingly from this point you can decide what medium your communications has to take, be it a 'Slidument', a talk, a white paper or simply a diagram or model for discussion.

Anyway, that's a 'Blurt' on 'Blurts' give it a go, it really is a usefull way of getting things started and doesn't take a lot more than thumping away at a keyboard or scribbling on a piece of paper.

Cheers

Andrew