If you can't explain it to a six-year old, then you haven't understood it yourself!
Read this a while back, and it reminded me of a line from 'Philadelphia', where Denzel Washington, a lawyer, tells his witnesses, 'explain this to me like I'm a four-year old'.
This is so appropriate for our times now. People take great pleasure in elaborating and complicating, ranting away in detail. In many ways, it is reflective of your personality and your ability; personality because it tells you whether you want to communicate clearly or not; ability because it tells you whether you know it or not.
Winston Churchill, at the start of World War II had asked his chief of staff to summarise the military preparedness of England, in a single page. He knew the power of brevity, of being to the point. And he knew that they would come up with a detailed report that will fill pages but won't convey anything.
Aren't all of our consultant or experts' reports drafted that way now? Not committing to a point of view. Because they are not sure. They try to cover up their inefficiencies with detailing. And presenting it as if it's an expert's view. And not being able to understand it easily is the key.
Sometimes the guy who's ranting seems to be enjoying it, at your expense. Like in 'Jab We Met', Shahid tells a lawyer, 'Aap kitna bolte ho yaar, bahut mazaa aata hoga na?'.
A six-year old will not listen to you for more than a few minutes, and that is all that one page can allow you. We should all try to limit our communication, especially those that seek a decision, to one page and 5 minutes! Let that be our benchmark!
Read this a while back, and it reminded me of a line from 'Philadelphia', where Denzel Washington, a lawyer, tells his witnesses, 'explain this to me like I'm a four-year old'.
This is so appropriate for our times now. People take great pleasure in elaborating and complicating, ranting away in detail. In many ways, it is reflective of your personality and your ability; personality because it tells you whether you want to communicate clearly or not; ability because it tells you whether you know it or not.
Winston Churchill, at the start of World War II had asked his chief of staff to summarise the military preparedness of England, in a single page. He knew the power of brevity, of being to the point. And he knew that they would come up with a detailed report that will fill pages but won't convey anything.
Aren't all of our consultant or experts' reports drafted that way now? Not committing to a point of view. Because they are not sure. They try to cover up their inefficiencies with detailing. And presenting it as if it's an expert's view. And not being able to understand it easily is the key.
Sometimes the guy who's ranting seems to be enjoying it, at your expense. Like in 'Jab We Met', Shahid tells a lawyer, 'Aap kitna bolte ho yaar, bahut mazaa aata hoga na?'.
A six-year old will not listen to you for more than a few minutes, and that is all that one page can allow you. We should all try to limit our communication, especially those that seek a decision, to one page and 5 minutes! Let that be our benchmark!
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