And Your Point Is?

Janet found that her boss, clients and vendors all interrupted her continually. She thought they were rude until she realized she was using too many words. When she told her boss that she was putting the holiday candles on her office budget instead of the holiday budget, she began by explaining all the reasons she had considered in making her decision. She followed by giving counter arguments to the arguments that she had just made.

She then explained that if her boss didn't care for her decision, she could change it. Once she finally made her point, her boss had lost patience.

Most people would have interrupted her much earlier in the conversation. Janet needed to communicate using PowerPhrases, which are short, specific, targeted expressions that say what you mean and mean what you say without being mean when you say it.

People who make their point without rambling are considered much more powerful and professional. So, power up, stand up and speak strong. Get to the point before the listener gets so frustrated they no longer care.

Janet would have been better off saying, "I have decided to put the holiday candles on our office budget," and then letting her boss decide if he needed more information.

Imagine that you have a 16-year-old daughter who is two hours late in returning the car. When she returns, if you give her an hour lecture on the importance of responsibility, will she hear you? No.

If you say, "I'm so glad you're safe. You broke the rules, and you know the consequences. Hand over the keys," she will hear every word.

Do you find that even when you think you are being perfectly clear, people often don’t get the point? Jon discovered that when he kept his description of what he required short, the end result was always closer to what he wanted.

Does it take an act of Congress to get in to see your boss? Dana found that to be true for her until she started making her trips into his office very brief. She would tell him, "I have three points I need to make, and I need four minutes of your time." Then she always left at the stated cut-off time no matter what. Her boss grew to welcome her visits.

How do you make your points in as few words as possible? Distill your message to three important concepts. What do you think, what do you feel and what do you want? Once you have those three points you may want to edit your message to only one or two points.

When you communicate with brevity, you come across as someone with places to go, things to do and people to see—which, of course, you are.

Review the next e-mail you send and cut out at least one-third of it. Review the next flyer you create and cut out one-third of that. The next phone call you place, be prepared in advance and make it one-third as long as usual. You will no longer be a person people interrupt. You will become a person people will want to listen to. n