46 The Six Secrets of PowerPhrases
How did her boss ever have the attention span to listen to
that woman say all that? Many people don’t. Many people sim-
ply tune the other person out. Relevant details need to be
there—irrelevant details need to go. Many people will tune you
out at the sound of irrelevant details and miss the relevant ones!
Before we move on, ask yourself what Jeanette could have said.
How about the following:
Because we will use the leftover candles from the party
in our office, I decided to put the holiday candles on
my budget.If her boss wants more details, he can ask for them.
Have you ever gotten map directions from the Internet?
They can be excellent and they can also overload you with
details. Sometimes they will give five instructions just to get you
on the Interstate. Once I was totally mystified by my map, and
I asked a hotel clerk for directions. He said,
Get on the Interstate going south and take Exit 33.
You’ll see it from the exit.I followed his brief directions and found it with ease.
Celebrities, leaders, and other media-savvy people under-
stand the principle of brevity well. If they have something they
want picked up by the media, they provide statements in short
catchy phrases, like
Count every vote.
I have a dream.
There is only one possible outcome here. Our victory,
not theirs.