The Number 1 Communication Blunder

The number one problem in most communication is this, the data dump. Whether you're giving a speech, whether you are in a job interview, whether you're in a face to face meeting, the number one problem people have is just too much information, too many data points. It's the number one problem with those PowerPoint presentations. Mark Twain, the author, once said, I'm sorry I wrote you a long letter. I didn't have time to write you a short letter. He's absolutely right. It takes more time to think about what to say and what to leave out and what to edit out to write a short letter than it does to write a long letter. A long letter, you can just put out everything. One of the reasons the TED Talk series is so successful is because there's a time limit of 18 minutes. So a lot of speakers who are smart and intelligent and articulate, who are used to speaking for an hour or two hours, who are highly articulate, really give thought to how they can narrow things down, eliminate the fluff, focus on just one big idea and a few others, and deliver it 18 minutes. Whether you're giving a speech, a PowerPoint, talking one on one with a family member or colleague, always think about how you can narrow it down to the most important points. Whatever you do, don't give people a hundred reasons for why they're wrong or why they have to do what you want. Focus on what's most important. Do not dump data. If you've got a whole lot of data for people, communicate that by giving them a memo, an email, a book, give them text, give them a PDF, but don't sit there and speak to them on and on and on.