Most courses say that the key to better communication is to be concise, and to clearly summarise, but they don't really explain how to create such a summary. In his book "The First Minute", James Fenning has created what he calls the "GPS" method which is an easy to remember structure for creating a clear summary of a problem or idea.
Goal Problem Solution
The three parts of the structured summary are:
- Goal: The goal you are trying to achieve
- Problem: The problem that is preventing you (or team/business/etc) from reaching the goal
- Solution: What you (or team/business/etc) are going to do (or could do) to solve the problem
Example
- Goal: The sales team would be really effective with a live, easy to access sales summary that is easily accessible so they can track vs. their revenue targets.
- Problem: All of the data is spread across different people's network folders and there's confusion with which report is accurate and when it was last updated.
- Solution: The solution to this problem is to create a central point with one trusty worthy data source and implement Power BI that can be accessed anywhere, any time.
Why is a summary helpful?
Using a structured summary at the start of your conversation will provide a concise synopsis of what they are about to be told, what is expected of them, and the next steps that need to be taken.
The simplest way to do this is to implement the goal, problem, solution method (GPS). With it, you can summarize an entire message in as few as three sentences no matter how complex the topic.
Goal, problem, solution forms an easy-to-remember initialism: GPS. Just like the navigation aid with the same name, the GPS method is a tool to help you show others where you want to go, to highlight the obstacles between you and your destination, and to describe the route to get there.
Keep them separate
Goal and problem are the most common parts to get mixed up. People often find themselves describing the problem as part of the goal. It is also common to think that the goal is to solve the problem and combine these two elements into a single sentence. Goal and problem are different and should be two distinct items in your message. The goal is what you want to achieve. The problem is why you are having trouble achieving it.
Conclusion
As shown above, creating great summaries doesn’t have to be complex. If you are talking about something complex, start with a summary. The GPS method enables you to use just 3 steps to create amazing summaries at work.
- State the goal
- Describe the problem
- Outline the solution/next steps
Remember to not try to fit a huge paragraph of text into the GPS method. Stick to three clear sentences, one for each aspect.
Using the GPS method to structure your introduction makes it easy for your audience to understand what is happening and what you need. It leads your audience through the key points in a logical order, clearly stating the problem to solve, and it finishes with a focus on action.
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