Speak with Urgency and Clarity
(or, “an unusable shower head must be fixed now”)
This isn’t about plumbing but about speaking with a sense of urgency and clarity. Most people don’t do either. In other words, they bury their lead.
Recently, I was teaching a BRIEF 101 course to a military unit and we did a short exercise to create a headline. In their world, they call this a “BLUF” or a bottom-line-up-front. To do the practical exercise, I asked them to share a recommendation to make their organization better. After developing and delivering a brief recommendation to share with each other, they were then asked to create a short headline describing their partner’s idea in just a few words.
One headline stood out: “an unusable shower head must be fixed now.” Just hear the simplicity and power of that statement. Now imagine if they said it last, not first.
What a waste, right?
People Tend to Bury the Lead
In Journalism school, one learns not to bury the lead in a story. Tell the reader immediately the most important thing – at the outset, not the end. However, this truth isn’t embraced by most professionals every day. They tend to conclude with the point, not lead with it.
You’ll hear the bottom line at the bottom. The BLUF turns into BLAB!
The risk when you do this is that people are forced to wait patiently for you to get to the point. It’s not only time consuming but also frequently annoying. (You can dive deeper on this topic by listening to an episode from my podcast #321, Good isn’t a Headline).
Play to People’s Impatience
Imagine if you grab your phone and start swiping the screen with your finger to open an app and nothing happens. You do it again, and there is no response. You still see all the icons but the one you want doesn’t open, so you try another one. Still nothing. You’d get impatient pretty quickly.
Your audience is like that when you make them wait patiently for you to get to the point.
A better way to approach people is thinking they are busy, distracted and in a hurry. Envision talking to someone as if they were running out the door to catch a plane and they were late. If you had to talk to them, you wouldn’t bury your lead.
Know What’s Most Important
If you don’t prepare a short headline in advance, you can’t deliver one on the spot. Most people don’t think and act like journalists. They communicate lots of information and conclude at the end.
“The bottom line is….” That’s what you’ll hear as they wrap it all up.
Starting with what’s most important means spending time to think before you say or write something. Again, it may seem obvious but professionals rarely slow down to think about what’s most important. They ramble on about this and that but don’t open with a strong headline.
Buy a One-Minute Sand Timer
Quiet is the secret ingredient of the work day. Taking a few minutes alone, without distractions or disruptions, can make any professional more deliberate and intentional. When it comes to communication, you may only need 60 seconds to improve.
Several years ago, I bought a simple sand timer and started using it for a short moment of silence. I’d use it in our courses, in my office, and on the go. It was a simple, practical and powerful tool. When it comes to building a headline, a minute or two is all you might need. After a while, you won’t believe how quickly you can craft a catchy and memorable opening line.
Have a Headline, or Lose Me Quickly
The key to managing people’s attention is speaking in short headlines. They have these simple characteristics:
- Short. Try to use no more than eight words. Make each word work for you.
- Interesting. Be sure it grabs someone’s attention – a little hook is fine.
- Pointed. Tell your audience what your point is and deliver on your promise.
People love “spoiler alerts,” and headlines serve that purpose. You can use them every day, in a variety of moments like an email, update, recommendation, meeting or even a drive-by conversation. Just be sure you have one ready beforehand. Challenge yourself to use headlines as a way to frame your message so people know what to listen for before you start saying it.
This content was originally published on Joseph McCormack’s LinkedIn Newsletter, “Just Saying.”
