One thing

You know it’s important. But. How do you get them to pay attention to what you’re saying or writing?

Give them ONE thing to remember and do it in one sentence. This is the advice from Smart Brevity.

Why it matters: The strategy can be used in all aspects of your life.

• Kids: Before they walk out the door, we want to tell them to watch for cars, don’t talk to strangers, or you can’t fly so don’t jump off the roof of the house. One thing: “Make good choices.”
• Classroom: The list of comments. Cite your source, you’re not your, or expand this to 1,000 useless words. One thing: What is one lesson, idea, or tip that will make the other things easier to understand?
• Work: Call this person, file this report, or read this 25-page case study no one else will read. One thing: What is the one thing they can do that will make everything else easier or unnecessary?

Yes, but: I concede. Just like all strategies. Sometimes you have to give them more than one thing. Will you concede that is not always the case and there is value in this idea?

Deep dive: If you would like to look into this idea more, check out their book and visit their site.