I should trademark “Babbling Brooke”™ because I routinely say too much about too many topics.
A key attribute of effective leadership is communication clarity. Howard Hendricks would tell his seminary students “A mist in the pulpit creates a fog in the pew.”
One of my mentors recommended condensing my verbosity to 3 statements I could fit on a 3×5 notecard. Why? Few people can remember more than 3 key ideas from a presentation. He said something like “If you want to impress them with your intelligence, talk and talk and talk. If you want to move them to act differently, say no more than 3 things, explained well, and leave them wanting more.” He cited the example of the orator Edward Everett speaking for 2 hours before Abraham Lincoln delivered his 272-word speech at Gettysburg.
Don’t be fooled by apparent simplicity: Achieving clarity is hard work that requires the best of you. Marcus Tullius Cicero once wrote “If I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter.” Mark Twain wrote “If you want me to give you a two-hour presentation, I am ready today. If you want only a five-minute speech, it will take me two weeks to prepare.”
Worth it.
