When Bill Moyers served as Press Secretary in American President Lyndon Johnson's administration, he was asked to say a prayer before dinner one night. He apparently spoke very quietly, for President Johnson interrupted him, "Speak up, Bill," he scolded. "I can't hear a darn thing you're saying!"
Had you been Mr. Moyers, how would you have responded:
(a)"Sorry, I'll say it again."
(b)"I'll speak more loudly next time, Mr. President."
(c)"I wasn't addressing you, sir." If you chose answer (c), as Mr. Moyers did, you are well on your way to passing the Memorable test.
Answer (c) surpasses the other two in originality. (It also reflects both deference and defiance at the same time, an ability only the most verbally skilled possess.) While (a) and (b) are perfectly acceptable answers, they lack the sparkle that we find in the spoken and written expressions of those who have developed their communication powers to the fullest.
As an organizational leader, you need to express your ideas in a manner that is more than "acceptable": you need to express your ideas in a manner that will be remembered. What are the methods used by those who do speak the language of leadership?
Three are presented here, in the hope you will consider them at length and will incorporate them, as appropriate, the next time you want to make a long-term impression upon your audience.
Know the power of simple words We find world leaders as well as corporate leaders communicating most powerfully with short, simple words. Mother Teresa, for example, tells us, "We can do no great things. Only small things with great love."
Her monosyllabic majesty cannot be denied. Compare it to this monstrous passage from an actual corporation's letter to its stockholders.
In order to provide adequately for discretion in the Board of Directors of the Corporation with respect to providing non-contributory and contributory pension for employees under varying circumstances as occasion may require, it is considered necessary, as set forth in the attached plan for employee pension benefits, to continue the authority of the Board of Directors of the Corporation to authorize adoption of the pension provisions and benefits so as to provide different pension benefits of employee contributions from those set forth, to provide for the same or different benefits for other groups of employees, and to designate employees as being within or no longer within the coverage of any such pension benefits, all as the Board of Directors of the Corporation shall, in its discretion, from time to time believe to be required by the differing situations of various employees or groups of employees and in the best interests of the corporation and its stockholders.
How much did you remember after just one reading? Probably not a great deal. Upon examination of the passage, we find it being strangled by its own weight.
Notice the entire passage is just a single sentence. To gain practice in streamlining your own communications, you can re-write this passage. Then present it to a number of colleagues and ask if they understood it and, if so, ask if they can repeat the point of it after just one reading.
You can use these same two questions with your own most important communications. If your reader or listener can paraphrase your point after just one encounter with your words, then you will have passed the Memorable Test with very high scores.
Use metaphors Winston Churchill may have coined the most famous of all metaphors when he described the barrier separating Eastern Europe from Western Europe as "an iron curtain." For a great many people around the world, the metaphor comparing Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher to an "iron fist inside a velvet glove" was a suitable one, to be sure.
Business leaders, of course, use metaphors as well. Consider this from Peter Silas, CEO of Philips Petroleum, "We can no longer wait for the storm to pass. We must learn to work in the rain."
Or Dr. W. Edwards Deming's allusion to business problems as "deadly diseases."
To make your communications memorable:
1.Use short, simple words.
2.Use short sentences (no more than 15 words on the average).
3.Use short paragraphs (no more than 9 lines on the average). To create a metaphor: 1.Specify a particular business condition or situation.
2.Compare it to something with which it would not typically be compared.
3.Extend the comparison by pinpointing an attribute of the comparison. (For example, Mr. Silas extended the storm comparison by pinpointing an attribute of storms--i.e., "rain.")
Build try-angular phrases We find such phrases in the advertising of exceptionally successful firms, such as Nike's "Just do it." We find them, too, in persuasive communications, such as Nancy Reagan's encouragement to children faced with the prospect of drug usage: "Just say no!" We find them as well in the personal mottoes of CEOs such as Jack Welch of General Electric, whose oft-repeated phrase--"speed, simplicity, self-confidence"-- pertains to business operations as easily as to personal values for life and living.
In Mr. Welch's case, the phrase is made even more memorable by virtue of its alliteration: all three words begin with the letter "s."
To build a three word phrase that encourages others to "try":
1.Write a full sentence that captures the passion behind what you believe.
2.Underline the three most critical words.
3.Either develop a sentence using (or combining) those words or find alliterative synonyms for them. (If you choose the latter option, ensure the three words are all in the same word form--e.g., all nouns or all verbs, or all adjectives.)
Put the verbal-consumer first Earning high grades on the Memorable Test is really a matter of consideration for your audience. When you are sensitive to their capacity for retention and recall, you will do everything you can to make your words memorable. Using simple words, metaphors, and try-angular phrases as appropriate will ensure you do not fail in your attempts.
Dr. Marlene Caroselli lives and writes in Rochester, NY. She works wherever organizations need speakers, trainers, keynote addressers, facilitators, and workshop leaders. The author of 39 books (visit the Amazon.com web site), Dr. Caroselli is a frequent contributor to several leading business publications, such as the National Business Employment Weekly and Stephen Covey's Executive Excellence and Personal Excellence publications.
Her most recent books are Principled Persuasion: Influence with Integrity, Sell with Standards (800-876-4636), just named a Director's Choice by Doubleday Book Club; and Richuals at Work: 52 Ways to Enrich the Workplace.
You may contact her at mccpd@aol.com or by calling 716-227-6512.