A lesson from painting for better communication …

Read more thoughts on the art of communicating week-daily at https://michaelgerharz.com/blog

Mentioned in this episode:

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New book

Welcome back to

“Irresistible Communication”.

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Two minutes, twice a week.

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No nonsense advice on

leadership communication.

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Imagine a painter working on a portrait.

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He's unhappy with the way the eyes look.

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So he adds more colors, trying

to capture the right shade.

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. Still unsatisfied, he then paints

additional lines and shadows,

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hoping to give them depth.

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But the more he adds the further

the eyes drift from his vision.

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Frustrated, he keeps piling on

strokes, shades and highlights,

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but with each one of those making

the eyes busier and less lifelike.

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A fellow artist, seeing his

struggle, takes another canvas and

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paints the same eyes with just a

few confident well-placed strokes.

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The result: a clear vivid

and lifelike pair of eyes.

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The original painter's instinct

was to add, thinking more

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detailed would solve the problem.

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In reality though, the simplicity

and clarity of fewer well-placed

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strokes made the difference.

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It's a cliché, but it's

true.: Less is often more.

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In our rush to communicate, we

pile on words and ideas, thinking

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it's better, but it's often not.

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One strong argument that sticks

easily beats 10 weak arguments

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that our audience forgets.

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Strip it down and keep it simple!

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Subtract the nonessential

and amplify the essential.

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Your message will be so much clearer.

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Keep lighting the path and

share it with a friend!