The PREP Framework: How to communicate confidently in any situation

Hey everyone,

Have you ever been asked for your opinion or feedback and found yourself struggling to get your thoughts together? Yeah, same here. Sometimes our brains are just juggling too many ideas at once, and it all comes out as a jumbled mess.

But guess what? It doesn’t mean you’re a slow thinker. It just means you might not have the right frameworks to organize your thoughts on the fly. Our brains are super complex, so if someone asks, "How do you feel about pineapples?" you might start thinking about their taste, your personal preference, their popularity, or even their availability in different places.

The trick is to use mental models and frameworks. One that works really well is called PREP, which stands for Point, Reason, Example, and Point.

Here’s how it works:

1. Point: State the main point you want to make.

2. Reason: Explain the reason behind your point.

3. Example: Provide an example to illustrate your point.

4. Point: Reiterate your main point for emphasis.

For example, if you want to suggest using more automation technology at work, you could say:

• Point: "We should use more automation technology in our workflow."

• Reason: "I waste a lot of time each week coordinating meetings via email."

• Example: "By using Calendly, I’ve reduced the back-and-forth emails for scheduling meetings, saving a significant amount of time."

• Point: "Therefore, I believe we should explore more automation options to increase our efficiency."

This way, you can deliver a clear and meaningful message in less than a minute. Without frameworks like this, meetings can drag on with vague statements like, "We need to get more aligned" or "We need to create synergies."

So next time, don’t blame yourself for struggling to communicate. It’s just about having the right tools. Pick up the right framework, and you’ll see how much easier it gets to make your point.

This post was a rewriting of: