A lesson from painting for better communication …
Read more thoughts on the art of communicating week-daily at https://michaelgerharz.com/blog
Transcript
Welcome back to
“Irresistible Communication”.
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:Two minutes, twice a week.
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:No nonsense advice on
leadership communication.
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:.
Imagine a painter working on a portrait.
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:He's unhappy with the way the eyes look.
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:So he adds more colors, trying
to capture the right shade.
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:. Still unsatisfied, he then paints
additional lines and shadows,
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:hoping to give them depth.
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:But the more he adds the further
the eyes drift from his vision.
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:Frustrated, he keeps piling on
strokes, shades and highlights,
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:but with each one of those making
the eyes busier and less lifelike.
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:A fellow artist, seeing his
struggle, takes another canvas and
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:paints the same eyes with just a
few confident well-placed strokes.
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:The result: a clear vivid
and lifelike pair of eyes.
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:The original painter's instinct
was to add, thinking more
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:detailed would solve the problem.
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:In reality though, the simplicity
and clarity of fewer well-placed
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:strokes made the difference.
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:It's a cliché, but it's
true.: Less is often more.
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:In our rush to communicate, we
pile on words and ideas, thinking
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:it's better, but it's often not.
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:One strong argument that sticks
easily beats 10 weak arguments
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:that our audience forgets.
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:Strip it down and keep it simple!
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:Subtract the nonessential
and amplify the essential.
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:Your message will be so much clearer.
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:Keep lighting the path and
share it with a friend!