Public Speaking Myth: Brevity Is Key

While scanning through Twitter a couple weeks ago, I came across an interesting “tweet” on the page of speaker and speaking coach, Patricia Fripp. It read …

Speakers…if you can say anything in less words it will be more memorable.

I’m sure you’ve heard the same advice in different forms from many different sources. For example

“Brevity is key”

And while this may seem like sound advice, it’s not always true. In fact, sometimes using more words will make your speech more memorable. Regardless of what “new scientific evidence” may suggest, a look at speeches of the past  — the speeches we remember most — proves otherwise. Take, for example, “We shall fight on the beaches” . Here is how Churchill delivered the words …

“We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France,
we shall fight on the seas and oceans,
we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be,
we shall fight on the beaches,
we shall fight on the landing grounds,
we shall fight in the fields and in the streets,
we shall fight in the hills;
we shall never surrender …”

Here’s how the speech would have been delivered if “brevity” were the focus …

““We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France,
on the seas and oceans,
with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be,
we shall fight on the beaches,
on the landing grounds,
in the fields and in the streets,
in the hills;
we shall never surrender …”

Or he could have said this …

“We’ll fight everywhere until there’s nowhere left to fight!”

Had Churchill simply sought to “save words” and shorten his speech, the key message of that whole passage would have been weakened.

You may argue that “we will fight on the beaches” is the line that people remember most, but the line is memorable because the phrase “we will fight” is repeated seven times. Without the repetition (and more words being used) the phrase would not be as memorable.

There are many more historical examples of memorable phrases that we remember because more words were used, but I think this one is sufficient evidence.

If brevity isn’t the key, what is? I would say the key to being memorable is to use the right combination of words. That doesn’t mean you ignore time limits or overload your audience with information. It just means you should choose the appropriate combination of words to drive your point home and make your speeches more memorable.