Dateline: June 20, 2014
Welcome to our Friday WRAP – one thought-provoking idea to think about over the weekend.
Getting the right attention for your ideas is increasingly more difficult in an environment of overwhelmed, over-emailed/texted/interrupted colleagues and leaders. This week’s WRAP comes from a recent review in Fast Company of a book by Joe McCormack titled BRIEF: Making a Bigger Impact by Saying Less. The consequences of not being brief can be career limiting, according to his research. Saying what you mean in a concise manner is a learned skill, and many don’t practice it.
Another reason we struggle to be brief is because we have a tendency to underprepare. “[When you’re being brief] you have to make a lot of decisions about what’s essential and what’s not essential for that person in that moment in time,” says McCormack.
Cutting out all the irrelevant information can take time; time many of us don’t invest when we’re speaking with others. It’s because of these challenges of being brief that McCormack says makes brevity an essential skill that helps people to stand out as being disciplined and professional.
Lisa Evans, the reviewer at Fast Company, summarizes the key takeaway, briefly, as this:
In an age of information overload, brevity is the skill we need to be heard and be successful.
The book suggests a process for insuring your messages are not ignored, and have the impact you seek. It is a worthwhile read.
How do you make sure you say enough, but not too much, so your messages have the right impact?
That’s a WRAP! Have a nice weekend!
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