If given 20 minutes, use 10.
“It is the insecure who feel they must spend every bit of time allotted to them to embellish their record; the self-assured don’t have to.”
The power of brevity is what I remember most about this book.
These examples helped me realise that any time limit — to give a talk, a workshop a speech — is mostly there to mislead us. After all, people don’t care about spending exactly X minutes…. they want to walk away feeling inspired, confident, learned, and with new things to be curious about.
They want an “ah-ha” moment, and a sense that they’ll be able to remember and apply somethings to their lives. They want a feeling of clarity, that a thought they’ve just started to have has been made clear.
That is what I want to remember to aim for, and not worry about the time limit. If I can make that impact in less time, even better.
“Incisive Sounds Decisive. Too many people think that if they allotted twenty minutes on the program, they are compelled to use every bit of their time, and more. if they expect fifteen, and you give them five, you are displaying singular leadership.”
“Singular leadership” may be an uncommon term, but to mean it means decisive and understanding. The leader not only has a strong opinion or strategy, but can invite others to understand and emphasise with it with few words. They are thought-through, and observant.