Part of our job is to be good communicators and to coach others to be good.
“Get the maximum for the minimum.” A guy briefing our class said this was the TJ Maxx principle. I don’t know if it is or not. It’s a good principle.
As soon as a communicator starts communicating the audience’s attention span starts to drop. The longer one communicates, the less the audience pays attention. Attention will ebb and flow, but in the aggregate, it will drop over time.
The art of communicating is maintaining attention span so you can get the message across.
Use the TJ Maxx principle. Allow your audience to get the maximum content for the minimum communication.
Communicate ONLY what needs to be said to gain understanding. No more, no less.
Always start with why, always convey only the background and context needed to understand and always stop talking when you’ve achieved understanding.
Good public affairs officers are experts in communication and coach members of their organization to communicate.
Go and do likewise.
Photo by Cpl. Sabrina Candiaflores
