In Praise of Brevity

"Be Sincere. Be Brief. Be Seated!"

Franklin D. Roosevelt
32nd President of the United States
(1882 - 1945)

At Gettysburg in 1863, Edward Everett delivered an eloquent speech of 13,607 words lasting two hours, just to have every word immediately forgotten when, moments later, President Abraham Lincoln delivered his famous three minute, 272 word address.

In our experience we all have a split personality – a little arrogant, and at the same time a little insecure.

Both of these augur against brevity in presentations. Arrogance inclines us to fill a page with data just to prove we’ve mastered the subject. Insecurity inclines us to fill another in fear of leaving something out. To satisfy our hutzpah and doubts, we over produce, over analyze and over verbalize. Consider this conflict: we’re all A.D.D., yet we generate twice the material and three times the slides actually required to do the job.

Time for a new standard – less is more – Brevity is king. Think Well Structured, Concise and Well Delivered.

Imagine your own response if a colleague used half the allotted time, delivered a big idea – supported by three arguments with one or two pieces of evidence – showed a maximum of 9 slides, gave a quick summary, main idea & a call to action – and ended?! Wouldn’t it be a shock (and a pleasant one) if you could get the idea, understand the analysis and embrace the next step in minimal time?

Applications:

1. Personal: Both Arrogance and Insecurity are all about you – not your listener. It’s not about you, it’s about them! Put your attention where it belongs.

2. Home/Family: Keep it brief! Your family is being schooled by the media – ten seconds is an eternity.

3. Office: Present the minimum amount of information! Then allow the audience to draw the additional information out of you in the Q & A – a conversation may “break out.” And all time limits fade in the presence of interested listeners.

The higher you rise, the less time you'll get to impress. Presidents, Deans and Heads of State are impatient, demanding and more than a little critical. So get it right and get 'er done!