On clarity…

For several years I worked in press relations, in environments where every word mattered.

Managing sensitive stories under pressure, I learnt a powerful lesson about communication: clarity always beats quantity.

Journalists are busy people. If you don’t grab their attention in the first few seconds, you’ve lost them.

That’s where the “pyramid style” of writing came in — starting with the most important point, then fleshing it out in descending order of importance.

Adding a strong headline as a hook, and a message that could easily be lifted into print.

It was excellent training in 'less is more' — concise, structured, and actionable.

Fast forward to today: it’s the same principle I share with business school students, workshop participants and coaching clients.

We often feel we have to say everything we know about a topic.

Or fill the time (and more!), for fear of questions we might not be able to answer.

But our audience doesn’t need everything. They need enough to process and act on our message.

When we’re concise:

🔸  the bare bones (structure) stand out
🔸  the right details flesh them out
🔸  space is created for conversation and connection

And that space? It’s not negative. It’s necessary.

Think about your next speech or presentation: how can you apply the ‘less is more’ approach?