Why do some communications we read hit with real impact while others don't? We are engulfed by messages everywhere we turn: thousands of companies, publications, media outlets, pundits and influencers all feel they have something worth saying, wisdom for which you should willingly trade your time. Many of them are wrong.
Let me stop right here and say that I fully understand the potential irony involved in writing a blog about too many communications that aren't worth your time. I sincerely hope this piece won't be yet another marching band in that long parade.
When I think about messages that are constructed and delivered to create real impact, I think of the great Sir Winston Churchill. Arguably no one before or since has been able to make the English language dance as well as he. But it was a dance with a purpose. Churchill often traded a flourish for a fact, an intricate turn of phrase for blazing simplicity. He wanted words that would work and a message that would land with influence and inspire a response. While he was known as a political orator, oration wasn't his goal. His goal was to connect with listeners or readers in a genuine fashion and create a shared channel of ideas.
Writing is a one-way endeavor until a reader intellectually or emotionally responds. At that point, it becomes communication. We too often confuse transmitting a message with full receipt and shared interest. As a result, we wind up talking at each other, talking over each other and talking around each other.
There's a wonderful little book edited by Max Morris called The Smart Words and Wicked Wit of Winston Churchill. Within that collection of aphorisms, there are several principles of wisdom embedded in the master's words:
Keep it simple. "What if, instead of 'We shall fight on the beaches,' I had said, 'Hostilities will be engaged with our adversary on the coastal perimeter?'" Churchill knew that there is power in brevity and in clear, declarative sentences. A straightforward thought packs more punch and is easier to grasp.
Don't be afraid to repeat the important bits. "If you have an important point to make, don't try to be subtle or clever. Use the pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time; a tremendous whack." We all learn through thoughtful repetition. A reader's attention may drift at times, so offer a reason to keep coming back with new explorations of the core point.
Strategy can be clarified by putting pen to paper. "Out of intense complexities, intense simplicities emerge." I've always found that committing those intense complexities to paper crystalizes thinking. There's an old adage that difficult topics can best be mastered by trying to teach them to others, and that truth works on the same principle. It is impossible to communicate ideas clearly until the writer or speaker understands them well enough to share with others in compelling, straightforward ways.
I used to work with a strong strategist who frequently reminded others that it takes guts to be simple. There is a layer of false comfort for leaders in reliance on complicated models, long spreadsheets and reams of data. Once the "simplicities emerge," as Churchill would say, they can be revolutionary, disruptive and the foundation of new competitive advantages.
It also takes guts (and thought) to be brief, for similar reasons. The mathematician Blaise Pascal was reported to have commented on one of his own missives by saying, "I would have written a shorter letter, but I did not have the time." To get to the heart of the matter -- to find the words that work -- takes intention, time and effort. But the result is a transition from mere "writing" or "marketing" to real communication: the exchange of meaningful ideas with another human being.
If you'd like to talk more about how to create messages for your business that generate impact and results, let's communicate soon. Email me at keith@riverfall.is and let's talk!