Have you ever suffered through a long-winded and confusing presentation or sales pitch? While the speaker is rambling on, you find yourself wondering what point the speaker is trying to make or lost in other thoughts.
Nearly all of us have found ourselves in this situation before. Have you ever wondered if your audience feels the same way when you are presenting an idea? Why do we find ourselves in this situation more often?
While email and the Internet have given us the ability to find information and make purchases much faster, the downside to these tools is information overload. The average office employee in 2015 received over 100 emails each day. This number is expected to increase by 5% every year for the foreseeable future.
So how do we avoid being “that speaker” that meanders through a discussion with no identifiable purpose?
Make a Bigger Impact by Saying Less
Brief: Make a Bigger Impact by Saying Less is a book, written by Joe McCormack, that can make you an effective and “lean communicator” in very little time.
The book explains not only why it’s important to be Brief, but also gives you the tools to communicate clearly and concisely. Joe even helps you determine when and where to be Brief. The book is easy to read and provides readers with an action plan to put the principles into practice.
How to Become Brief
You can get your own copy of Brief from Amazon, which can also be found on our resources page. I have also attended the Brief course and workshops and highly recommend them to those in the military and executives alike. Check out Joe’s website at http://thebrieflab.com or follow The Brief Lab on LinkedIn.
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There is an old Army adage that says, to be a successful staff officer, you must learn to do three things: be brief, be brilliant, and be gone. Of course, as a staff officer, one of your roles is to provide your Commander with timely and relevant information to help increase his/her’s situational understanding, thus leading to better decisions. The substance of your message is what is essential.
I like the recommendations from the Brief Lab’s blog:
• Specific. Can information be easily be substantiated?
• Organized. Is it easy to follow and always conclusive?
• Brief. Does it last too long or hit the key points quickly.
• Straightforward. Does it require lots of set up and clarifying questions?
• Memorable. Is it easy to recall an hour or even a day later?
I am never afraid to say “Nothing Significant To Report”, or NSTR on an update, because I don’t need to justify my existence by telling someone how hard I have been working, just get to the point!
Excellent points Justin! Thanks for your thoughts.