The 140 Character Universe

Sometimes there are just too many words. 

Yes, that was me who wrote that. A writer at her core. A person who needs words. Lots of them to express herself in the way in which she wants.

But sometimes less is more. Scratch that. When it comes to words, less is always more. 

Writers are taught to clean it up and to show me, don't tell me. It's ingrained in the head of a writer. The little bird sitting on your shoulder - asking - is that word REALLY necessary? 

Of course, today everyone is writing. If not the great American novel, chances are somewhere in the course of an average day a line or two is posted on Facebook, a Tweet is sent to your tribe, a shout out on Google+ or perhaps a cute little hook on Instagram. At the minimum you've sent at least one email or text message.

If someone has not told you about the less is more concept, you might not make your point.

-You might try a blog post that runs the length of one of those articles in Vanity Fair, which is great for a juicy magazine article, but considered a ramble for a blog that should run between 350-750 words.

-You might respond to someone else's blog post in 410 words with no beginning, middle or end that leaves the reader wondering what your point was and longing for the excess time that you seem to have.

-You might never get a retweet because the original tweet was just too long and there was nowhere to cut it down.

-That email you wrote to pitch a new client never got read because the reason for the note was buried somewhere in the fourth paragraph.

-The text you sent was so long it came in three sections which explains why your boyfriend still doesn't understand why you're mad. He never read it.

If your intention is being heard - or in this case read - get to your point. Keep it concise. Don't make us wonder what your point really is. In a world where our attention span has shriveled to that of a goldfish, there just isn't time to go wasting a lot of words.

Twitter forces the practice. For better or for worse. On the one hand it is a challenge to get to the point in just 140 characters (120 if you'd like your message retweeted). On the other hand, it forces us to get clear on what we want to say. 

But even if you're not tweeting, the point of all this technology is to connect. The 140 character message won't always work, but it's a good barometer - especially if you want to make your point. 

Words Are All I Have

"You think that I don't even mean

A single word I say

It's only words, and words are all

I have to take your heart away."

The Bee Gees

My mother always told me to think before I speak. She ingrained in me the importance of the words I chose, whether speaking a sentence or writing one down. In the middle of one raging fight when I was a teenager she admonished me that my words had daggers on them. I don't remember what I said, only that I had caused tears to well in her eyes. I had hurt her simply by whatever it was I said. It was the first time I really understood the power of words. They could "take your heart away" in the best of ways or the worst of ways.

In my years selling advertising  I saw words  used to make money. Whether it was the closing line of a sales pitch or a commercial designed to entice you to buy something the careful selection of words, the tone and order in which they were delivered could make you salivate or turn your stomach. A promotional teaser  was designed to get you to tune in and buy something, if only a few moments of your time.

As a coach, the words I use are intended to make you think, to assess where you are and where you are going.  My choice of words is designed to get you to the answers you are looking for but if not careful, I can just as easily choose words to sway you in the direction I think you should go.


And as a writer I am consumed with words. I choose them carefully determining their effect. Words properly strung together to form a sentence can create a scene or a feeling or an understanding that I want to convey to you. They create a visual in your mind. They hold power. They can influence. They can make you think, for better or worse.


The reasons for the tragedy of the shooting of Congresswoman Gifford and the other victims on  Saturday in Tuscon are yet to be fully revealed. But there is no question in my mind that the careless use of rhetoric and the stringing of words designed to incite that has become so commonplace and so accepted fell upon ears that took them for their literal meaning. Worse yet, upon hands that took action.

We are a society based on communication and free speech, one in which which conversation takes place 24/7, on line, off line, in text and in print. Attempts to be heard above the fray for reasons of desired celebrity and/or money have caused too many to use words without thought of the consequences they might produce. They are "only words" but "words are all we have" and how we use them requires civility, responsibility, integrity and a basic understanding of right and wrong.



Do you think before you speak?
Do you think before you put something in writing?
Do you think the political vitriol had an impact on Saturday's tragedy?