This post is the epitome of blog efficiency: brief, to the point, and full of goodness; the electronic equivalent of salmon sashimi. So crack apart your wooden chopsticks and tuck in.
Here’s one of the most important lessons I learnt as a stand-up comic for public speaking:
If in doubt, cut it out.
Cut out the fluff, sort the wheat from the chaff, make it lean and mean. When you learn to identify and remove the information that probably doesn’t deserve inclusion in your public speaking piece (presentation, speech or article), you start to make it far more appealing to your audience. Whoever’s listening to – or reading – your material will develop confidence that you deliver only the juiciest morsels of information.
We worry about making the piece long enough, but ask yourself this:
‘How short could I make it, without losing its essence?’
That’s it. No more, no less.
Enjoy.