I was sharing classroom strategies with an instructor. He stopped me when I got to my announcements. “Tell me about that,” he said.
THE BACKSTORY: I had just finished reading the book Smart Brevity. I Smart Brevitize my announcements as the book suggested (and like this post).
- I explained an idea from the book. We have 26 seconds of attention.
- The authors argue this formatting helps with that.
- It makes sense to me, so I tried it.
THE REACTION: “I vehemently disagree with that,” he said in a derisive tone. “But let’s say I concede that point,” he went on, “it’s a ridiculous notion that we change the way we deliver our lessons.”
OKAY, MAYBE: It’s an interesting debate. And he might be right. It might be ridiculous.
- But my goal is for the student, client, coworker, or boss to walk away with ONE thing.
Ultimately. You tip the scale.