Get to the point.
1. Leave short voice mails and emails.
2. Write shorter blog posts, the point is to leave people with a good idea or two.
3. Ask questions. Let others talk, and then pack a punch when you do talk.
4. Non-Verbal communication is a skill. How do you look? How’s your posture? Are you making eye contact?
5. Limit lists to 5 or 6 points. Any more and people will start to forget the big picture.
7 responses so far ↓
Darko Majcenovic // March 25, 2008 at 7:28 am |
Nice post! I use this strategy for dealing with mail: http://sentenc.es/
davidscohen // March 26, 2008 at 4:49 am |
Nicely put. If you admire brevity check out “Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure” by Larry Smith, Rachel Fershleiser. et al.
Scot Herrick // March 26, 2008 at 1:36 pm |
And, I would add, lead with your conclusion in writing or verbal conversations. This allows others to see where you are headed and your reasoning to get there. Not doing this will cause people to tune out.
William G. Peregoy // March 26, 2008 at 1:46 pm |
Nice post.
Adam Salamon // March 26, 2008 at 3:44 pm |
@Darko: I think that strategy for email is golden. Even in sales, I get much more response from short messages. If you do it in person, you also sound much smarter.
@ David: Thanks for the recommendation, I’ll definitely check it out.
@Scot: I would suggest giving a teaser to the conclusion. Sometimes it’s best to deliver the conclusion with a bang, especially if someone thinks they know where you’re going with the idea.
@William: Thanks for the brevity
Dan Schawbel // March 27, 2008 at 12:16 pm |
Agree BUT I think you need to specific what your audience is asking of you and what your intent is as well.
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