Next level communicators should never have perspective.
Next level communicators should never have perspective.
Mark Twain once joked how some German words were so long they had perspective (Don’t you just love Twain?). While his observation may be true of certain foreign words, they should never be true of communicators. No, I’m not saying we shouldn’t use long words, instead I want to warn against long explanations. When we explain things we should never have “perspective”.
Whenever I get an idea for a book, I’ll reach out to my agent, pitch the idea, and if he thinks there’s some potential he will send me what I have come to call, “the hated document.” I call it this because there’s a section where I’m asked to explain the essence of the book in fifty words or less. I like this about as much as I like the tablespoon of cod liver oil my mother used to give me when I was a kid. There’s a lot riding on this exercise. Publishers will decide to offer me a contract based on this section. There’s financial implications tied to how clear and compelling my explanation is. And I’ve had more than a few publishers over the years say their version of, “Not for us,” because they either didn’t get it or weren't moved by my idea.
The ability to explain well is everything for us communicators. While our illustrations and applications are the seasoning or sauce of our message, the point we make is the steak and potatoes…the substance. And the worst thing our audience could say about our talk was they didn’t get it. I’d much rather be wrong and clear, than right and confusing.
When I go about the work of explanation I have found the following to be helpful:
What does my audience need to know? Remember, the Greeks said one of the marks of a compelling speaker is they had logos, which is the idea of rich content. But this is the problem isn’t it? There’s a fine line between rich content and content overload. Because of this I ask myself the question, “What does my audience have to know about the point I’m making?” This is going to take a lot of self restraint, especially if you, like me, are a bit of a nerd when it comes to information. Most of what you research for a talk should not be mentioned in the message. On the flip side, if most of what you have studied does make it into the message I’m willing to bet my wife’s dog it’s a bad talk.
Let the people know why they need to know this bit of information. The most effective communicators I know use cheat codes. One of the best is when you are about to explain something that may appear irrelevant, you should try saying, “Now hang in there with me, this may seem out there, but I’m going to tell you exactly why this is critical to your__________ (work, every day life, marriage, etc).” With this one statement you’ve just bought yourself some time to carefully explain what they need to know.
Stay within your budget. When I write my messages they are five pages long, ten point font, space and a half. Each point I allow myself one paragraph to explain (on a rare occasion two paragraphs). Like a person working within a financial budget, as a wordsmith I work within an explanation budget. This forces me into simplicity as a communicator. Remember one of the laws of effective communication is we want to be simple, not shallow. The mark of brilliance is the ability to make the complex simple. Being economical with our words helps us with clarity. If there’s not a tension you feel when you put the message together over all the really good information you are leaving out, then you are probably way over budget and headed towards boring your audience.
Use proverbs, not rants. The more you explain the less clear and compelling you become. Please don’t misunderstand me, I am not minimizing explanation. In fact, your explanation is the most critical part of the body of your talk, because this is where the truth, the substance lies. What will keep you simple, clear and compelling is to use proverbs- short, pithy statements which carry a punch. A rant would be going on about the importance of learning from others mistakes instead of your own. A proverb would be, “Experience isn’t always the best teacher, but it is the only school a fool will attend”. In less than 20 words I have made a point. You could go on a rant about going through hard times and needing to accept what has happened to you and the importance of faith. Or you could use a proverb, “Faith doesn’t deny reality, it defies reality.” If you learn to condense your explanations into short, pithy statements known as proverbs, it will keep your audience from boredom and confusion, and will have them lean in to hear your point.
Explain with the least in mind. The best compliment I ever get is when a kid comes up to me after a talk and says their version of, “I got it. I liked it.” I’ve earned a few theology degrees over the years, but if I only explain with the highly biblical literate in mind, I’m cooked, especially in this age of declining biblical literacy. Now don’t hear me say we should only swim in the kiddie pool as communicators. We should not. I’ll say it again, we want to be simple, not shallow, and one of the ways we do that is to take rich, complex truths but say it in ways which are accessible to everyone in the audience. After all, isn’t this what the most powerful communicator in human history- Jesus- did?
What I’m Reading:
Drop everything and get, Theo of Golden, by Allen Levi. This will make my top ten list of the year…I’m sure of it.
