The YouBlog

Don't Waffle

BOY, IS THIS AN EASY WAY TO SCREW THINGS UP. Just pick up the phone to call someone about something important, and then ramble on — either live or in a voice mail — until you finally hit on what you were really calling about.
        I've done it, and you probably have, too. It's waaay too easy to do. Most times, we get through it, and the receivers get through it, and life goes on.
        But sometimes, particularly if you're trying to persuade or influence someone, that kind of waffling can weaken your position.
        This act of "winging it" also affects presentations, if you've done the barest of preparations and suddenly are faced with a live audience. And it rarely comes out the way you really want it.
        I'm not saying your calls should be precisely scripted, nor that your presentations should be delivered by rote. (see "Death by Memorization?")
        But you should take a few moments before you pick up the phone (and many moments if you're working on a presentation) to organize exactly what you want to say. Write down the one key idea you want to convey, or the critical question you want to ask, or the three major points that your team needs to address. Just the act of writing them down helps organize your thoughts, so that when you do call, you'll be that much more concise and clear.
        I've stopped myself while dialing more times than I can count and said, "Why am I calling?" or "What exactly do I want to ask?" Then I'd jot some notes and dial again — and the call or voice message has always been better for it.

Warning: Obfuscation Ahead

IT IS SOOOO EASY TO COMPLICATE THINGS. How? Just talk like you write.

"Huh?!" (I hear you say.)

It's true. We tend to make our writing much more complex and dense than it needs to be (and, for most people, a lot wordier than it needs to be), and that too easily spills over into how we talk, particularly when we're trying to persuade or influence others.
        It may seem more professional and advanced to use a lot of long words. You certainly see this in most press releases and marketing pieces, and waaaay too many presentations and sales pitches — phrases like "maximizing your mission-critical applications while simultaneously achieving dramatic reductions in resource-intensive operational flows."
        In reality, writing or talking like that is one of the worst things you can do to keep people engaged in your ideas or message. Here's why:

1) People may not even understand what you're talking about.

2) They may stop listening or reading while they try to decide what something like "mission-critical" really means.

3) Even if they understand both the context and the words, it's likely to sound or feel phony, since only "Me"-focused sales people and marketers talk that way.

You want to know how insidious — Ooh, tripped myself right there! "Insidious" is actually the perfect word for that idea, but will everybody understand it? Not necessarily. Better to go with a different approach, like "...how easy it is to fall into this trap".
        This doesn't mean you have to dumb-down your message. It's just that the simpler it is to follow your ideas, the faster the receiver can process it and the more likely (and grateful) they are to stick with you.
        Back to what prompted today's post: "internationally-active" versus "globe hopping". These came up in a project we're working on. Sure, there are subtle differences between the two phrases, but in the context in which we would use them, they weren't that different.  Meanwhile, it's eight syllables versus three.
        Do you know what happens when you spin out a phrase that requires eight syllables? The receiver's mind just stops, waiting for you to finish the phrase. Yes, it's only two words, but compared to the speed at which our brains work, it takes half a lifetime just to get through those two words.
        And it's harder to say things like that, whether it's you the speaker or them, the readers (who say these words in their heads as they're reading). Try those two phrases right now and see for yourself.
        So keep your words short — and few in number, if you can help it — and your ideas will be much more concise.
        (Time to take my own advice . . . bye!)

Related posts:
  · Busted
  · exercise #2 in Don't Get in the Way of Your Message
  · Stillness in a Hectic Life
  · Why Be Concise?