We considered titling this book: "An Instructive Guide that Will Show You a Variety of Tools and Techniques You Can use to Develop and Deliver a Message that Communicates the Essence of Your Thought Process in a Cohesive, Cogent and Convincing Manner."
Catchy, isn't it?
But after much soul-searching we decided to go with "Make Your Point!"
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Bob Elliott
There are two reasons why people use more words when they could and should use fewer.
No. 1, they probably aren't clear in their own head what they're trying to say. Their mouth leads and their brain follows.
Good communicators know what they want to say before they say it and they get right down to it.
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Editors' note: Bob Elliott, creator of the Boca Grande Camera club and board member of the Boca Grande Art Alliance, spent a career improving communications at large corporations such as Pfizer, Cigna and Westinghouse, where he witnessed many of the faux paus detailed in the book "Make Your Point," which he co-wrote with Kevin Carroll. As a communications consultant he developed relationships with top American companies such as General Electric, MasterCard and Wal-Mart and also worked with personalities such as model-actress Cindy Crawford and tennis star Jimmy Connors. The preceding was an excerpt from "Make Your Point,"which is available at amazon.com.
Do you know what you're going to say before you speak?
No. 2, some do know what they want to say but still use too many words, which means they just aren't disciplined.
Our friends in advertising know about discipline. When the cost of a 30-second ad on a successful prime-time show can cost millions, words are at a premium.
Ad people spend months researching their client's products or services and then they boil all that knowledge down to a brief TV commercial or print ad.
Example: Volvo is the safest car on the road today. Got it.
When the great orator, William Jennings Bryan, accepted the Democratic nomination for president in 1896 the average length of a sentence in his speech was 104 words. Today, the average length of a sentence in a political speech is less than 20 words. We're in an age of directness and making our point more quickly.
Next time you have to make a point, imagine you have to say it in a 145-second ad. This will force you to get right to it.
Words are like money. Why spend more when you can spend less? Talk as if you're on a budget.
Editors' note: Bob Elliott, creator of the Boca Grande Camera club and board member of the Boca Grande Art Alliance, spent a career improving communications at large corporations such as Pfizer, Cigna and Westinghouse, where he witnessed many of the faux paus detailed in the book "Make Your Point," which he co-wrote with Kevin Carroll. As a communications consultant he developed relationships with top American companies such as General Electric, MasterCard and Wal-Mart and also worked with personalities such as model-actress Cindy Crawford and tennis star Jimmy Connors. The preceding was an excerpt from "Make Your Point,"which is available at amazon.com.
