30 Seconds....

In my attempt to focus attention on personal improvement I have been accessing a number of resources from the local library that deal with communication and efficient business techniques. I was fortunate to come across an older book (copyright 1986) by Milo Frank entitled "How to Get Your Point Across in 30 Seconds - or less"

The title was intriguing. Immediately I began to think about numerous questions. How long does it take me to make my point? How much time SHOULD it take? 30 seconds, can it be done? Certainly seems feasible since advertising does it all the time, but can you take an advertising strategy and apply that principle to general communication.

I found this book and the approach used by Frank to be delightful. The basic ideas were simple and straightforward. The concept is to focus, specifically on 3 main ideas.

1) Your objective
2) Your audience
3) Your approach

The example that Frank used that made the biggest impact to me was the story of Dorothy in The Wizard of OZ.

Her Objective - Get Home

Her Audience - The Wizard

Her Approach - The Yellow Brick Road

After being introduced to this example in the text, I really understood the main principles Frank was trying to relate.

So while this post has taken longer than 30 seconds to read, and attention doesn't change for the written word, here is the main idea in 30 seconds or less...

There are numerous compelling reasons as to why 30 seconds has such importance and significance. The shortness of time and inability to remain focused are two of the most important. The 30 second message is a tool. It can quickly become a regular way of communication if you simply put forth the effort to think and prepare what you would like to be heard. Know the three basic principles, and allow them to become ingrained into your thinking and you will find yourself preparing 30 second messages all the time.