Less is More(#1) in Communication
Say Less - Tell More

Don’t waste your audience’s time by delivering cheap intros. Go straight to the point. Don’t be selfish, like A.Užkalnis : earn audience’s trust by communicating something in 90 seconds, instead of 15 minutes.
A review of a restaurant — that is all I was looking for. Instead, in his review, he rambled about annoying people for 4 paragraphs — half of his article. He wasted both, the reader’s and his own, time and resources(unless they pay him only for the word count).
Ann. Handley broke it down to a simple formula.
Utility × Inspiration × Empathy = Quality Content
Utility — help the audience do what matters to THEM.
Inspiration — provide strong sources of arguments, with a personal touch and/or story.
Empathy — understand and look from the audience’s eyes : what they need, want and desire.
The rambling intro did not provide any value to me. The writer tried to be entertaining. A) It wasn’t B) He could have combined it in the review(see some examples of what is value creation)
I did not write my previous article perfectly. Why? It was not perfectly prosodic:
- Every sentence must serve a purpose, otherwise — delete it.
- Every sentence must engage and invite to read the next one.
The following fix could have improved the article’s readability.
(proposed by Ann Handley).
Do not explain, how and why you came up with a specific point in the beginning of the sentence. Such words do not express the message and waste time. Put them in the middle, or the end.
Here are some phrases to avoid at the start of a sentence:
According to…
There is a…
It is [important, critical, advised, suggested, and so on]…
In my opinion…
The purpose of this [email, post, article] is…
In 2014 [or any year]…
I think [believe] that…
First, I want to know what you mean,
then — where it is coming from.
Using Words to Sound Smart — Makes You Sound Stupid.

In Toastmasters public speeches I see people adding big words to their speeches with no purpose. I don’t care(as a listener) if you sound smart. I want to know— WHAT IS YOUR POINT ? WHAT IS YOUR STORY?
Example: “I strategize my time” did you want to say: I plan my time.
The last communication destroyer: Too many adverbs. It can mislead and tire the audience. Use less adverbs, ‘especially -ly adverbs’.
Some examples:
- A woman ‘isn’t incredibly pretty — she’s beautiful; the sky isn’t very blue — it’s azure.’
- That pine tree is not extremely tall — gigantic, giant.
A solution to cleanse your language: expand vocabulary. Just one new word used several times a day — will eventually make you sound actually smarter.
Improve your communication:
- Go straight to the point.
- Be Simple.
Say Less — Tell More.
Sources:
- http://www.theminimalists.com/eleven/
- http://lifehacker.com/5909543/write-less-say-more-the-power-of-brevity
- Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content by Ann Handley
- Time Waster: http://laukineszasys.delfi.lt/apzvalgos/vathaitau-tailando-restoranas-hipsteriai-cia-pasprings-nuo-aiskinimo/
- Prosody : https://www.thoughtco.com/prosody-phonetics-1691693