Have you ever been on a call, webinar, or pitch and found yourself quietly thinking, “Get to the point already!”

I’ll admit, I have a tendency to share the whole story (everyone who knows me is relieved to see this confession in writing).

It’s rare that I say, “To make a long story short…”

Even though I’ve proven to myself that including every colourful detail doesn’t make me clearer, it does make me longer. It often muddies the waters and costs me the attention of the listener.

I love to set the stage and give context before getting to the heart of it — but by the time I arrive, my friend has decided what’s for dinner, muted me to handle a child in need, and booked a flight (they think I don’t notice ).

On the flip side, people of very few words leave me wondering what they’re holding back. To me, it feels like I’ve hit a communication gate that I now need to break down with a series of questions.

Is there a happy medium?

Everyone has a communication style — both in sharing and receiving. When you’re with someone whose style mirrors yours, conversations flow easily. But we’re all different.

Admittedly, we don’t always have the time or bandwidth for the complete picture. Especially in answer to the question, “What do you do?” A couple of sentences suffices.

It took me several months to identify my personal mission: “To be a catalyst for positive change and inspired growth.” Distilling isn’t easy.

The painstaking work a company does to create its “brand promise” — that tagline under the logo or descriptive phrase that tells you who they are and why — is the result of hours of refining language and testing it with their target audience. And as the audience shifts or the service evolves, so does that carefully crafted statement.

Is it possible to communicate with clarity and articulation — consistently?

Aha! ~ Make it a practice to simplify and summarize.

In The Unwritten Laws of Business, the authors suggest that the art of simplifying and summarizing is not a skill but a habit.

Some people allow themselves to get immersed in a “sea of detail,” while others can “…withdraw to a suitable vantage point to survey a mass of facts in their proper perspective.”

In other words, they can step back from the swirl of information and see the shape of it — the core message — without drowning in the details.

The authors’ advice? “Cultivate the habit of ‘boiling matters down’ to their simplest terms.”

When you learn to boil things down, people lean in. You’re easier to follow. Easier to trust. Easier to say yes to.

For the record, I no longer ask, “What do you do?” I switch it up to, “What are you working on?” or “What are you working on that excites you?” It beautifully contains the conversation. We can go deeper if there’s energy there — or walk away after a minute feeling complete.

Now knowing how I like to tell the whole story, you’re enormously impressed that I can write big topics in a minute-long blog, eh?  Truth is, I’m far more articulate, concise and clear in my business writing than in social settings (nod away ).  Join us in Human U as we discuss ways in which to practice concise yet complete communication  4:30 eastern on Wednesday.