You may not have noticed, but Vice President Kamala Harris made a pretty good speech<\/a> on November 7th, 2020. It was good because it got right to the point. She started with the pitch, not with the wind up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She quoted John Lewis, reminding the crowd that, \u201cDemocracy is not a state, it is an act.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The speech was about 11 minutes long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is a very effective technique<\/a>, especially in business. She took a straight, no-nonsense path to the heart of the matter, which was the real threat Trump would somehow find a way to win the White House. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of the time brevity is a breath of fresh air for an audience, as long as the content of the message is not over simplified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBegin, be brief, be seated.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cBrevity, levity, charity.\u201d \u201cThe behind is oft persuader of the mind.\u201d These are well-worn reminders that your listeners want you to keep your remarks as brief as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can you do that?  I think it can come from belly gazing.  Sit down under a mushroom and ponder what you are really trying to say. What is essential and what is extraneous? Most of the time you should say only one thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gather your colleagues together and ask them what they think of the text. What should you prune and what should you save? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Murder your puppies, by which I mean, \u201cDon\u2019t insist on that joke you want to tell.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shorten your sentences, don\u2019t use big words, make your talk crisp and clear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If your audience wants to know more, be ready to answer the tough questions.  And remember that knowing your stuff is only half the job. You need to know what the other guys are going to say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You may not have noticed, but Vice President Kamala Harris made a pretty good speech on November 7th, 2020. It was good because it got right to the point. She started with the pitch, not with the wind up. She quoted John Lewis, reminding the crowd that, \u201cDemocracy is not a state, it is an… Read More »A Wealth of Information<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12574,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","_ti_tpc_template_sync":false,"_ti_tpc_template_id":""},"categories":[144,24],"tags":[548,870,871,600],"yoast_head":"\n