I hate to tell you this. But most of what you write no one reads.

The same for your videos. No one watches them.

Why? It’s all too long. 

SIGH. 

I watched this SHORT Ted Talk video and he affirmed (with actual data) what we always knew in the video storytelling world.

You are taking too long to get to the point. Your content is not that interesting to your audience. 

You are using words that make you sound like an Android who may or may not have a complex about “sounding smart”.

You are not grabbing your audience’s attention.

You give Zero Fs about your audience because YOU ARE SAYING SOMETHING DAMMIT.

So the next time you go to write your newsletter or to record that video. PLEASE think about what the content is for.

As a TV producer at the TODAY show, CNN & Bloomberg TV, we had MAYBE 90 seconds to tell a story. That is roughly 200 words to keep to my theme here.

Some stories had twists and turns and back stories.

But at the end of the day, most of our scripts had to be left on the cutting room floor.

And do you know why?

Because the TODAY show was maniacal about “audience FIRST”. Not YOU the producer or the reporter or the anchor but what will keep the audience watching? Engaged? Wanting them to tune in the next day and the next?

We are awash in distractions.  Smart phones have made “successful multitasking” a total lie. It’s impossible. Us humans are not equipped to multitask and with all the pings and dings, our brains can’t take it.

So the way we communicate has to change. It cannot be how it WAS.

I’m not saying there isn’t a place for longer, more in-depth content (hello documentaries, Bingeable series, books!!) But for most of us who are running businesses or use content to connect to our audience, it doesn’t need to be so long-winded.

Is it for you to drone on and on and to showcase your smarts?

Or do you really want to inspire, educate or entertain the person who is taking it all in?If it is the latter (which I hope it is)….then you will literally chop your content in half.
I am going to take my own advice and work on delivering you quality content to your inbox…but do it with a bit more brevity.

THERE I SAID IT OUT LOUD SO NOW IT IS SCRIPTURE!!

Don’t be afraid to turn off ALL THE PINGS. I now minimize my Whatsapp and Slack on my screen because it’s all too much! 

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