The title of this article is probably funny to people who know me considering it comes from someone who likes to talk, A LOT. The concept of “less is more” also might come across as an ironic recommendation from someone who’s spent a quarter of a century working in public relations.
But what I’ve learned through countless crises, issues, leaks and fumbles is that the rule of “less is more” is applicable, nine times out of 10, when it comes to our communications. Here’s why…
Crisis/Issues Management
In any contentious situation, the more we say, the more we talk – the more defensive the response can appear. Not to mention, what we say may also raise additional questions, most likely about information that isn’t ready to be disclosed or we aren’t ready to talk about publicly.
It’s a common reaction of people to want to over explain or over communicate in a crisis to assert non-guilt or convince the audience of an otherwise, bad perception of a person, company or situation. However, this reaction can do more harm than good – for reasons mentioned above.
Having a clear, concise, straight forward and simple statement to provide to invested audiences can address the larger issue or question and provide a necessary response without opening a can of worms.
Presentations
I tell my team all the time, “no one wants to sit and listen to you read content off a slide.” I’m sure our clients are proficient readers. What is most important in delivering a presentation is communicating what the one or two key takeaways are, per slide, from all of that content. What does the audience really need to know? Think about answering the age-old saying, “So what, who cares and what’s in it for me?” to keep delivery tight and compelling.
New Ideas/Concepts
People don’t normally have the time or patience to sit and listen to a long explanation about anything, let alone a new idea we’re trying to sell in. Think about answering the question: “how is this idea going to address the objective or issue?” If you think about it in this straight-forward manner, I bet you can boil down the idea to one or two sentences.
Providing an abundance of information around a thought starter idea without having the ability to plan or think it all out clearly with the tactical elements – can sometimes be confusing or sound complex – resulting in losing a client or team’s confidence or interest.
Have you ever watched an episode of Shark Tank? In this fast-paced format, individuals pitching their ideas to the sharks are typically captivating to listen to. They make their idea easy to understand, addressing the problem they are solving and why it’s a good idea overall.
Media Relations
When it comes to engaging with the media, please, please keep it tight and to the point without a lot of fluff regardless of what’s being communicated – a press release or a pitch. Just like any audience – media are pressed for time, get way too much email and need to know in two sentences what the story is and why they/their readers/viewers should care. Be direct – what is the story we are trying to tell? What’s the REAL story? No more than two sentences.
When we start thinking about our communications with a lens of “less is more” can help us as professional communicators become a more clear, direct and straight forward storytellers. Allowing audiences to better understand, process and respond to our counsel, ideas, perspective and feedback.