Embrace Brevity



"It is with words as with sunbeams.  The more they are condensed, the deeper they burn." 
 -Robert Southey
 


"The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one word will do."  
-Thomas Jefferson

Embrace brevity...
Make your vision statement 12 words or less.  If it's too long...people won't remember it.

Embrace brevity...
Keep your children's lessons short.  One minute for every year of the child's age with a max of 8-10 minutes.

Embrace brevity...
Say and write things short and simple.  The best communicators know how to translate complex truth into simple, easy to understand language.

Embrace brevity...
Teach one simple truth a month to kids and repeat it over and over and over.  One truth placed in a child's long term memory makes a bigger impact than lots of truth that is placed in a child's short term memory and soon forgotten.

Embrace brevity...
Have children memorize one verse a month.  One verse placed in a child's long term memory makes a bigger impact than lots of verses that are placed in a child's short term memory and soon forgotten.

Embrace brevity...
Keep emails short.  If it's over a paragraph, it's a phone call.

Embrace brevity...
Keep it short when you are speaking to adults.  The Gettysburg address is one of the shortest...but most powerful speeches ever delivered.

Embrace brevity...
Keep lesson series length at 4 weeks or less.  When you go past 4 weeks, kids tend to start loosing interest.

Embrace brevity...
Keep phone calls and appointments short and on task.  Schedule a start and ending time and abide by it.

Embrace brevity...
Use Text and Twitter to communicate with volunteers.  98% of text messages get read.  Why?  They are brief and easy to access.

Embrace brevity...
Train volunteers with short, online videos and 10 minute pre-service huddles.  Aren't you tired of planning long training sessions that only had a handful of people show up for?

Embrace brevity...
Keep staff meetings short and on task.  Schedule a start and ending time and abide by it.

What are some other ways you embrace brevity? 

Posted by Dale Hudson