TIGHT SQUEEZE

Today, one of the greatest communication challenges is brevity or delivering something meaningful-- with details in a brief period of time. Chalk it up to shorter attention spans, texting or social media conditioning, but it’s real. That’s why our Tip of the Week is brief. And it’s why we train our clients to deliver client anecdotes in under 2 minutes.

The same goes for emails, which also need a catchy subject line, gist up front and brief content.

In our 2-day Communication Immersion workshops, we assign attendees the task of delivering a 3–5-minute, make-or-break presentation at the beginning of Day 2. To construct their piece, they reference the content learned on Day 1. Attendees realize that In approximately 30 minutes, they can structure a presentation that is superior to the longer versions they are used to presenting.

When you rehearse, listen for extraneous words, examples or repetition. These “fillers” sidetrack the audience’s attention and can turn a short presentation into a long slog. Start with your Intention, or what you want to achieve. Then compress and distill your ideas and the words will follow. Never mistake length for depth. It doesn’t work in carpentry and is even worse when presenting.