Cut It in Half

My friend Cary is a pro at public speaking, but it didn’t come easily to him. He thought he had stellar skills until a boss tore apart a sample presentation—literally. The boss went page-by-page, keeping some slides and throwing everything else in the trash as Cary watched, speechless.

Cary said, “That was an unforgettable day for me. Was he nice about editing out all the extras? No. But as I took a second look, I realized no one will remember thirty PowerPoint slides! So, now I sketch out what I want to say. . . and then I cut it in half.”

The October series, Make it Count, has been about having communications with impact. You might think that you’re automatically short-changing your message by cutting it in half. But Cary observed that this technique has the opposite effect. Choosing your words and delivery carefully benefits everyone—the person listening homes in on your critical points and you stay on track.

Landing in the “less is more” middle even works for Cary at home. He sighed, “My wife and I are always ready to have a heart-to-heart with our teenagers. But we usually have less than five minutes as they head out the door. We’ve boiled our Friday night talking points down to three things: ‘Be safe, hit your curfew and never hesitate to call us. We’ll come pick you up, wherever you are!’”

Throughout the month, we’ve seen how successful conversations take more than elegant words. They require smart decision making, where you figure out when to speak and how to frame your delivery. Making the conscious choice to use soft skills to improve your communications is using your internal wisdom, a key Soul Boss principle.

Here is a recap of what we’ve learned:

• “Talk More than You Type” showed how making inferences is tricky. You can avoid jumping to the wrong conclusion by deciding to talk more than you type.
• “Your Weapon of Choice” demonstrated that listening and understanding your audience is the key to making communications count.
• “Push it Forward” revealed the value of being selective. Communications count when you focus on the issues that really matter.
• “Ineligible for a Namaste” showed the importance of staying in peace when you’re faced with bad behavior. It’s simple—the best communications come from a calm, clear mind.

The next time you’re tempted to launch into a long, drawn-out explanation, try the expert level challenge to reduce all the information you want to say to five or less memorable points. Here is how you can try the cut it in half technique:

• Make it fast by taking 30 seconds to make one less point.
• Make it deep by thinking how you can cut your message in half but keep the essentials.
• Make it real by saying less than you would normally say.

Laser focus your message to the essentials. The listener may thank you for it!