In this era of communication at our fingertips, social media with limited characters, and 50,000-word business books (or 126 pages, and some say that’s too long), it’s imperative to make a point quickly, succinctly, and with maximum impact. Our “lizard” brains are impatient: if we don’t capture another’s attention within a short period of time, we’ve lost our ability to make the case.
This relatively short attention span has been further reduced by the times in which we live. Be it the pandemic, political uncertainty, or job and housing insecurity to name a few, many are dealing with the stress of ambiguity, which results in further shrinking one’s attention span. As is oft said, and attributed to Alice Roosevelt (President Teddy’s daughter) “Be brief, be brilliant, be gone.”
All of us have sat through face-to-face meetings, presentations, and virtual gatherings that drag on, miss the point (what was it anyway?), and result in disengaged listening and retention. This can be frustrating under all situations; however, when it’s work-related, it can lead to loss of productivity, motivation, and, a failure to deliver what was desired. It can impact the bottom line.
In order to have the impact desired, following the adage “less is more,” is the trick, but how to do it?
Four Tips for Ensuring Less is More:
#1: Be Strategic: Clearly Define the Goal to be Achieved (before you start communicating).
Plan the communication, by listing all of the bullet points to be made in furtherance of achieving the overarching goal, and then paring them down to the bare minimum to reach the desired results with high impact.
#2: Once the “Final” Bullet Points are Listed, Practice Saying Them First, and Tweak, Where Needed.
Practice the communication in your head, or out loud, or in front of someone else. Ask yourself: was it natural; was it comfortable; did I make the points; and, did it have the impact desired? Time the communication to ensure it is brief. Remember Alice Roosevelt’s adage and the ever-present lizard brain.
#3: Check for Understanding.
If the communication was practiced in front of someone else, ask for feedback “what was I trying to say?” If the point was missed, modify it and try again.
#4 If the Communication is a Presentation, Be Concise and Leave Time for Q and A.
Generally, an audience learns and retains more if it is engaged, and there is an emotional impact, a la “wow, that happens to me, too.” Describe the main points and conserve much of the time for Q and A. Some of the best dialogue and most powerful learning takes place with the interchange between the speaker and the audience.
Putting the How to’s into Action? A Story, AKA “Practice What you Preach.”
Having served on the founding board of a childcare center, the husband and wife co-directors were set to retire. With countless lives touched, I was asked to speak in a thank you video, with the request, “no more than one minute.”
#1 Be Strategic: Clearly Define the Goal to be Achieved (before you start communicating).
The over-arching goal was to honor and thank the co-directors for their collective leadership in taking the small – four-room only – childcare center into a nationally recognized and honored state-of-the-art quality childcare center. Since several people were asked to contribute to the video, my role was to describe the early days.
My first list of bullets numbered 16. When I reread them, there was too much “me” in them, e.g., points about my own involvement, when the purpose was to focus on them. I reread the bullets and pared them down to nine.
#2: Once the “Final” Bullet Points are Listed, Practice Saying Them First, and Tweak, Where Needed.
Done – first in my head, and then in front of the mirror. After the third round in front of the mirror, I timed it and it came in well under a minute – 28 seconds to be exact.
#3: Check for Understanding.
To ensure the points were made, I called my youngest and asked her to listen. Her feedback was two-fold: “too fast mom,” and the transitions from point to point were abrupt. I added a few words between points, so the transitions were smooth, and I slowed down. My final practice run was 50 seconds – still under a minute.
#4: If the Communication is a Presentation, Be Concise and Leave Time for Q and A.
Although the video was not a presentation or talk in a traditional manner, thus no Q and A, I did time it, and, hopefully, “kept them wanting more.”
Conclusion: Adopt the adage “Less is More when Communicating for Maximum Impact,” and add these four tips to your toolkit:
#1: Be Strategic: Clearly Define the Goal to be Achieved (before you start communicating). List the points to be made to achieve the goal, and then pare them down to the essential.
#2: Once the “Final” Bullet Points are Listed, Practice Saying Them First, and Tweak, Where Needed. Practice in your head, out loud, or in front of another, and time it.
#3: Check for Understanding if you Practiced in Front of Another, Take the feedback and Tweak Again, if Needed.
#4: If the Communication is a Presentation, Be Concise and Leave Time for Q and A. When giving a talk, make the points and allow time for questions: time your speech and use less time than allotted to allow for Q and A.
You can do it!
A version of this post originally appeared on SmartBrief.com.
Image by Ronald Carreño from Pixabay
