President Franklin Roosevelt wrote a message that lives forever in history. He did it by changing one word.
After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, he wrote a speech to Congress.
He spoke the words "Yesterday, December 7, 1941, a day that will live in world history." After reviewing it, he replaced world history with infamy.
"A day that will live in infamy" became one of the most famous sound bites.
That one change made the message memorable and moved a nation to action.
What is the impact of your words?
Very bright, educated clients often resist when I encourage them to use shorter, simpler, and fewer words. They accuse me of "dumbing it down."
Consider this: Madison Avenue, the world's advertising hub, aims for sixth grade language in it's ads. Why? Because it lands in the mind of the listener. It captures attention. It sells. And it takes less time to get across.
To be memorable, rid your sentences of excess words and use words that are:
- active verbs
- small
- simple
- colorful
- emotional
I
tell my clients that I'm the lowest
common denominator. If I understand their content so will their
audience.
