Keep It Brief

Three hermits lived in a cave.  A horse trotted by the entrance.

After a few months the first hermit said, “Sure was a nice palomino horse.”

Three years later the second hermit said, “Wasn’t palomino.  Was tan.”

Five years after that the third hermit began to pack.  “If you two are going to talk so much, I’m leaving.”

That’s great advice.  If you talk too much your audience might leave.

This also applies to writing. For me the first rule is:  Make it interesting.  To be interesting, communication must be succinct.

A good conversation, or writing, should not be like the roach motel – you can easily get in, but you can never leave.  For this blog I want you to get in and be able to leave in no more than a few minutes.

Editing helps me clarify and condense.  Just the other day I was writing to a friend about, “the kitchen of my house.” Of course my friend already knew I was in my house, so I pared the comment down to, “in my kitchen.”

I only saved three words, but from a reader’s perspective I’d cut the phrase in half.  Thanks to editing, most of my blogs are between 300 and 400 words.  To keep them brief I always remember, “If it’s interesting and serves a useful purpose, leave it in.  If in doubt, leave it out.”

We also respond to variety.  Who wants to read a book where every sentence and every paragraph appear to be identical?

Years ago, my dad traveled to the Philippines and Japan as a member of the Xavier Cugat Band.  Cugat always reminded his band members, “One fast, then slow.  One fast, one slow.”  He was talking about variety.

While the elements of interesting writing also apply to other forms of communication, when engaged in a conversation there is an even more important element, and that is to listen.  People often think I’m more interesting when I listen, than when I talk.

Thanks for listening for a few minutes.

Alan