Purchasing

Mary Walker

Short but Sweet “The Value of Brevity”
January 14, 2008

I am not a person that watches much on television. I do like to watch an old movie once in a while; however I spend most of my free time reading.

Never developing the art of being a good speaker, I have been enjoying going to Toastmasters meetings and reading books on public speaking. Since doing this I have found out that many of my business associates have attended these meetings. It is funny how we choose to use our spare time.

When shopping at the bookstore for Christmas gifts I came across a book by Larry King, “How to Talk to Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere.” I liked the title. It got my attention.

Larry has a section in the book on the Value of Brevity. It tells a story of a man that received a lengthy letter from a friend that ended with an apology. His friend said, “Please excuse such a long letter as I didn’t have time to write a short one.” It is not easy to be brief, especially on a topic you know a lot about.

Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address lasted less than five minutes. Some of the longest speeches ever inflicted on the American public have been inaugural addresses of our presidents. President William Henry Harrison spoke for over an hour in freezing temperatures on March 4, 1841 delivering his inaugural address. He caught pneumonia and died a month later.

One of the shortest inaugural addresses was delivered January 20, 1961 by John F. Kennedy. We all remember his words, “My fellow Americans,” said Kennedy, “ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” Kennedy spoke less than 15 minutes on that cold day.

Winston Churchill was asked to speak at his alma mater, a respected boys school outside London. This was the advice he gave the boys of Harrow School on October 29, 1941: “Never give in–never, never, never, never–in nothing great or small, large or petty–never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense.” Then he sat down. That was his entire speech.

Brevity is something to be learned from these great men. Lots of words and length of time does not indicate a good speech. Time is valuable to all of us and we need to use it wisely. 

Posted by Mary Walker on January 14, 2008 | Comments (2)