“Public speaking is the art of diluting a two-minute idea with a two-hour vocabulary.” John F. Kennedy
I like what JFK said for a couple of reasons. First, if you can’t stand up and say it in 15 or 20 minutes, then keep your rear end planted in the meat. When it comes to business communication skills, heavy length doesn’t impress; alien. We are all busy and we all have a limited attention span. FOCUS on his message and never forget it: Brevity is clarity.
In business communication, the same rule applies whether you’re trying to improve your presentation skills or your writing skills. Keep your audience or readers on the top of your mind, stifling the urge to pontificate, and they will be there with you. The last thing you want him to do is examine the inside of his eyelids when you’re in the middle of your speech.
Of course, keeping it concise isn’t necessarily the easiest way. Many times I remember returning to the newsroom as a reporter with a notebook full of facts and juicy quotes from a homicide scene or controversial city council meeting, only to hear my editor say, “We’ll put it on the newsroom.” first page, but keep it short. We only have 10 inches for that.”
Oh, I would think. I don’t have time to write short. Now I have to decide what NOT to use. But remember: it’s worth it. Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address was 278 words long, and it took him only six or seven minutes to deliver the magnificent 701-word Second Inaugural Address. No, you’re not Lincoln. But you are able to distill your thoughts and stifle your ego.
Second, I have a piece of advice for anyone frightened by the prospect of stand-up business communication, i.e. a presentation or a speech: think of it as a conversation between two intelligent people who care about effective communication. That way, you’re not just an actor on a stage. Instead, you are in a dialogue that is given energy and depth by partners listening and working with you.
In a conversation, avoiding eye contact would be rude, right? So why would you dim the lights and keep walking away from your listeners to watch a PowerPoint presentation on a screen behind you?
Any good conversation is a two-way, give-and-take, a natural form of effective communication skills that benefits both parties. Of course, with a speech, you have to start by talking most of the time. But everything you say should be aimed at encouraging questions from audience members and a conversation between them. If you start by standing up and talking, then find yourself facilitating a lively discussion, congratulate yourself. You can add public speaking to your growing list of communication skills.
Quality time with some talking seals
Not long ago, I conducted writing and presentation skills training for seven bright young SEALs, the Navy’s equivalent of Special Forces. When not “operating” in South America, Bosnia, Afghanistan, or Iraq, these seven guys test new weapons and tactics at the Naval Special Weapons Development Group in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Having covered the Pentagon for Business Week magazine, my expectations were low when it came to military writing skills: slang, acronym-clogged language, even pompous. I was in for a pleasant surprise. Sure, SEALs were a bit wordy, but they quickly grasped the key to any workplace writing: get to the point. Tell me what you want. Persuade me to adopt a new policy or spend money, analyze a complex situation or explain a new development. So tell me why I should be interested, what’s in it for me. From there, you support that idea with details.
Furthermore, please respect me and all readers by being concise. Quoting the English poet Robert Southey: “If you are spicy, be brief, for it is with words as with the rays of the sun: the more they condense, the more deeply they burn.” That’s quite a leap from today’s elite warriors to a poet from the Romantic Age, isn’t it? Still, it’s about deploying the language we share to achieve effective communication, using words wisely and sparingly and with conviction.
I’ve heard something else from the SEALs that makes me think all is not lost when it comes to military writing today. Their superiors have introduced them to a concept of writing organization called “bottom line to the front.” It makes sense, doesn’t it? Get to the point. Unfortunately, that leaves us with the acronym BLUF. I wonder if the powers that be would like to rephrase that?