Simplicity: Your Greatest Asset

• DateJuly 13, 2022
• AuthorLeah Swearingen
• Categories
  • Featured

You’re a smart, highly experienced, respected expert in your field. Which means, you’ve got a problem.

You know too much.

Your expertise is so vast, you struggle to distill your most vital, need-to-know information for your clients, peers, and prospects.

I’ve experienced this so often with clients that I’ve become the poster child for simplicity.

Here’s my mantra: Simplicity attracts. Complexity detracts. Devote yourself to becoming ever more skilled at paring down your message.

If you balk at this concept, consider a few others who agree:

• “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” Leonardo da Vinci

• “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.” Albert Einstein

• “A vocabulary of truth and simplicity will be of service throughout your life.” Winston Churchill.

All of us have endured a presentation, waded through a newsletter, or scrutinized an email searching for information we care about. But we often end up muttering to ourselves what Socrates noted thousands of years ago when he said, “How many things are there which I do not want.”

Condense your expertise into what others most want and will benefit from. That’s the essence of simplicity.

So, how do you hone your skills?

First, realize that simplicity is a process. It’s ongoing. You may not always start there, but through a process of discernment and elimination, you will find the shortest path to truth. Perhaps, even to elegance.

Second, constantly ask yourself, “What does this person or group most need to hear from me at this particular time?” Then limit it to two or three points.

Third, recognize how grateful and receptive your audience will be when you spare them too much information and detail.

Long ago a writing teacher taught me that when you emphasize everything, you emphasize nothing. That’s why, no matter how smart and proficient you are, you must pick and choose from your treasure trove of expertise.

If not, you’ll be sacrificing one of your greatest assets: simplicity.