Key Competency #5: Brevity

If there's one thing I struggle with most when writing these blog posts, its knowing how long to make them. If I make them too long, I risk the reader losing attention. On the other end of the spectrum, making them too short runs the risk of not explaining something thoroughly enough.

In most cases, I think making them shorter is probably better. Pretty much everything life is better when its shorter, hence why I'm labeling "brevity" as a key competency.
How many of you have sat in a meeting that has gone on for far too long? By the end of the meeting, you can tell you're not the only one who feels that way. Glazed looks pepper the crowd, with many simply staring down into their "laps" (aka phones).

This is one of the points that the Heath brothers drive in their excellent book, Made to Stick. If you want your idea to stick in the minds of your listeners, it can't be long form. People just don't retain information that well. The very first "S" in the Heath brothers' SUCCESs acronym is "simple".

To quote the infamous Michael Scott, we should keep another acronym in mind: KISS. Keep It Simple, Stupid.

And keeping my own advice in mind, I'm going to end this post here. Peace!

Comments

Key Competency #4: A Dash of "Not-Care-itude"

As an avid listener of The Tim Ferriss Show podcast, I listened to a recently uploaded episode complementary to his new book Tools of Titans (review incoming) that covered a number of tough questions he encouraged everybody to ask themselves. One of the questions he shared was, "How would you run your business if you were only allowed to work that business two hours a week?"

Five Games to Play While Listening to Podcasts

I'm a big fan of podcasts. I regularly listen to at least two podcasts every day, ranging from business to comedy to video gaming. Speaking of that last one, the best time to listen to podcasts (aside from exercise) is while playing a video game. Now, you can't just play any video game while listening to podcasts because it's just not conducive in every situation. For example, I would never suggest you play something like Call of Duty online while listening to a podcast. All your brainpower will go to the game and zero to the podcast. So when coming up with this list, I held to these couple of criterion for games suitable for simultaneous podcast: Can't be heavily story driven (Looking at you, Telltale Games) Can't be something that involves a ton of strategy Can't can't CAN'T be multiplayer Keeping these criterion in mind, here are five games I'd suggest you check out.

I'm Not the Tech Expert You Think I Am (Top 5)

Amongst my family and friends, and I am known as the tech guru. Any time they have any questions, I'm usually the first guy they call. And it's pretty understandable why: 9 times out of 10, I can help solve their problems. It's kinda weird and doesn't make sense to me. For example, I've been asked numerous times for help with something on Facebook. Um...... I don't have Facebook. (Well, at least, not anymore. I had one from 2008-2011 but haven't had one since.) This isn't to say, however, that I am useless here. In fact, my track record for solving Facebook questions is 100% so far. So what is it about me? As the title of this posts suggests, I'll be the first to raise my hand and tell you that I am not a tech expert. I have no formal training, no formal IT certifications, and only took one computer programming class in high school. So what I hope you learn from this post is what you can apply to become a "tech expert" yourself.

About LYEATT

This is my third attempt at starting a blog like this. Each other time I started, I was so concerned about views. How many people read what I wrote? Did anybody express appreciation over it? Did anybody have any other thoughts to share about it? The truth is, I heard nothing. Seemingly nobody cared! Although… I should say that really didn’t give either much to gain traction. Each maybe had three or four posts before my self-consciousness got the better of me and shut them down. So why now? Why try again?

Decision Fatigue and Five Tips to Avert It

One of the best things about living in Bloomington-Normal is the diversity of restaurant choices we have to choose from. Want one of the big chains? We've probably got it. Nice local restaurants? Yup. Italian, Chinese, American, Thai, and Indian places? Check. Ironically, one of the worst things about living in Bloomington-Normal is, you guessed it, the diversity of restaurant choices we have to choose from.

Search This Blog