Why I Like To Read Short Book Chapters

December 14, 2011 in how to,preaching with 0 Comments

There’s something quite satisfying about reading a short book chapter. It’s not because I don’t like to read. If I had the money I would probably buy one every few days. There’s so much to read about! Here’s the reason why I like short chapters, though: they’re usually clear in their focus and aim.

If there’s something that frustrates me above anything else in the realm of communication, it’s lack of clarity.

-What are you writing about?

-What are you speaking about?

What are you teaching about?

What I often notice in longer chapters is that, sometimes, they seem to ramble on. The author seemingly gets lost in trying to present the information. And guess what? This doesn’t just happen in books. It happens in teaching, presentations, sermons, and all kinds of other venues. The first sermon I ever preached was an hour long. Why? Because I thought that longer was better, so I kept adding stuff to get it to an hour.

Here’s what I’m convinced of–shorter is usually better because it forces you to be clearer. If you just have 10 minutes to present something you have to be extremely clear about what is and is not important. By the way, a good example of this principle in action are the TED talks. They are challenged to “bring together the world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes or less).” Many of the talks are actually around 10-15 minutes in length. Think about it–world-class presentations in less than 18 minutes? It’s possible. And very successful. And clear.

So the next time you’re writing something I encourage you to remember that less and clear is much much more.

What about you? What have you noticed about shorter forms of communication?

[image by colindunn]