Recently, someone thanked me for keeping my blog postings 'relatively short'. "Relatively?", I responded. The person went on to say that, compared to some blog posters, mine could be read quickly and didn't take a lot of thought to decode. At the time, I guessed that was a compliment. Now, I'm certain it was, for brevity is exactly one of the traits of speakers that I am very fond of.
On my desk, to the left of my laptop, sets a stack of four Kroupa cherry lugs. The name, Kroupa, has long been synonymous with the cherry industry in Traverse City, Michigan. When the mechanical cherry pickers came along and displaced the human pickers (of which I was one for a string of summers in my youth), the wooden lug, that the pickers dumped their 'picked' cherries in, became a relic of the past. I don't know how many are still resting in barns, warehouses, and storage sheds throughout CherryLand, but I am the proud owner, and protector, of nine of them. The four on my desk house my favorite books (at eye level) and my personal collection of CD's. The other five serve as shelves, elsewhere, displaying cherished items such as old Fiestaware, my tiny angel collection, and other glass objects d'art, special only to moi.
One of the books, at my eye level, is entitled, No-Nonsense Communication, by Donald L. Kirkpatrick.
This book has been a staple of my library for about the past eleven years, coming to me from my SO, who utilized it during his corporate career. The gist of the book embodies what most of us, me included, forget from time to time: Just as in writing, when using the fewest words to get your point across is preferred, the spoken-word form of communication is no different. "Say what I have to say, try not to repeat myself, then be quiet and wait for a response.", is basically what Kirkpatrick 'says'. Be 'to the point' and stick 'to the point' is a good mantra for no-nonsense communication.
Now that I am taking note of the length of this posting, it is time to bring home my point about brevity and type my conclusion. Actually the point of brevity's value was made, to me, by my eldest grandson, TLV, during one of our last meals together when he and his family visited during the holidays. It was time to say a prayer before the meal and I volunteered to pray. TLV, seated directly across from me, looked me in the eye and said, "Please don't make it a long one." I chuckled, complied and we all got to eating more quickly than if I had prayed for everything and everyone.
Remember, on this last day of the year, that if all of your conversations - tonight and all other nights - are brief, succinct, and to-the-point, then the party can begin faster.
Happy New Year!
Ancora imparo
