You know the feeling: You’re sitting in a meeting or at the dinner table where everyone is talking in English. You have a great idea that you want to share but you choose not to share it because you’re not sure you can express your idea clearly enough.

As Americans living in Turkey and learning Turkish, we know how it feels to feel unsure about your ability to share an idea confidently and convincingly.

Try these 5 steps to help simplify the process and make it easier to share your idea confidently next time the opportunity arises:

1) Interject – You can’t get your great idea out there for others to hear unless you open your mouth and join the conversation.

2) Affirm Other’s Opinions – Its always helpful (not to mention kind) to let others know you really heard and understand their opinion before you share a differing perspective. Sometimes they may not even really listen to your point if they think you’re not listening to theirs.

3) State Your Opinion – This is the core where you express your idea. Your opinion might be a continuation of the same sentence as the sentence above where you affirmed other’s opinions, or it might be an entirely new sentence. But keep it brief yet specific.

4) Give Reasons Why – Again, this part could be a continuation of the same sentence as stating your opinion or separate sentences. Even if you can fit all the reasons into 1 sentence, you might have to explain your reasons with more detail.

5) Finish with a Clear Statement – This is a restatement of your opinion that you shared in step 3. Especially if your reasons took some explanation, it’s important to end your speaking by making sure the listeners have a clear picture of the idea that you’re proposing.

Now that you’ve watched the video, think about an idea you’d like to share in a future meeting. Click here to download the PDF Planning and Speaking Tool and get ready to express your next idea more clearly than ever.