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If you want your speeches to have a stronger impact, American author, columnist, keynote speaker, and former journalist and news anchor Carmine Gallo suggests replacing long words with short ones. "In his groundbreaking book Thinking, Fast and Slow, Nobel economist Daniel Kahneman writes, 'If you care about being thought credible and intelligent, do not use complex language where simpler language will do.' Effective leaders speak in simple language — and simple means short," Gallo explained.
He said this is especially true during a crisis, when attention spans are flagging and noise levels are high. "People are being bombarded by information, some of which is misleading or false. The clearer and more concise you are, the better your chances of getting your message across and persuading people to act on it."
"As you think about how to share your next message, remember that language influenced by the Anglo-Saxon period has been used by many great leaders," Gallo highlighted.
Winston Churchill once said, "The shorter words of a language are usually the more ancient. Their meaning is more ingrained in the national character and they appeal to greater force."
In a memo titled Brevity, Churchill urged government administrators to replace long "woolly phrases" with single conversational words, pointing out that brevity equals clarity and that directness makes things easier to understand.
Next, Gallo thinks you should search for analogies. "Neuroscientists have found that our brains process the world by associating the new or unknown with something familiar. When presented with a novel idea, our brains don't ask, 'What is it?' They ask, 'What is it like?'"
"Analogies answer that question. They serve as mental shortcuts that help us understand complex events. Leaders who are great communicators in a crisis are skilled at finding analogies, because they have to persuade people to act quickly."
The human brain is wired for storytelling. In his best-selling book Sapiens, historian Yuval Noah Harari argues that it was only through stories that our species was able to take over the world.
Our advanced language skills — specifically, our ability to connect with one another through narrative — allowed us to cooperate in ways other species simply could not.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease at the National Institutes of Health, is widely admired for his straight, persuasive talk. CNN has even called him “a public force” who translates complex medical information into everyday language.
"You don’t want to impress people and razzle-dazzle them with your knowledge," Fauci said. "You just want them to understand what you’re talking about."
