Jesus said that our speech should be simple, plain, and honest speech. In
Matthew 5:37, we read, “Let your word be "Yes, Yes' or "No, No';
anything more than this comes from the evil one.” Richard Foster[1]
applies this notion by saying that we are to reject jargon and abstract
speculation, whose purpose is to obscure and impress rather than to illuminate
and inform. He points out that plain speech is so difficult because we are
afraid of what other people will think. He thinks we need to listen to the
divine center of our lives in order to have simplicity of speech.
One might think of “Silent Cal” as a master of simplicity. President
Coolidge, well-loved in the 1920’s, had memorable sayings.
• No one ever listened himself out of a job.
• I’ve never been hurt by something I didn’t say.
• The business of America is business.
• If you don’t say anything, you won’t be called on to repeat it.
• If you see 10 troubles coming down the road, you can be sure that
nine will run into the ditch before they reach you.
Is there wisdom in simplicity? Is there depth of thought in simplicity
of words?
John C. Maxwell, author of a number of best-selling books on
leadership, points out that William Henry Harrison delivered the longest
presidential inaugural address in U.S. history. The speech, delivered during a
cold rain, lasted two hours. Despite the frigid weather, President Harrison
refused to wear an overcoat or top hat. He caught a cold that developed into
pneumonia, from which he died a month later. Maxwell sees a leadership lesson
in this: “It pays to simplify.”
In “Connectors Keep it Simple,” Maxwell identifies two myths about
simplicity. First, he says,
“We often associate simplicity with a lack of
depth or shortage of intelligence. Conversely, we ascribe intelligence to
people who communicate using big words or hard-to-grasp concepts. Somehow, we
assume that anyone speaking in a dense, academic style must be smart. The
issues we face in life can be complex, with all sorts of intricacies. However,
as leaders and communicators, our job is to bring clarity to a subject,
reducing rather than adding to its complexity. ... Simplicity is a skill, and
it’s a necessary one if you want to connect with people when you communicate.”
A second myth about simplicity, Maxwell says, is that “simplicity is
easy.” He writes,
“To us, simplicity means taking shortcuts and
denying the complex reality of life. However, in a society flooded with
information, simplicity has never been more difficult to achieve. Nor has it
ever been as important.”
“Perhaps nobody understands simplicity better
than Apple Inc. The company put its computers back on the map by touting their
user-friendly interfaces. Then Apple leapfrogged the competition by pioneering
devices that simplified the way we access, store and share information. Despite
his success in bringing about simplicity, Apple CEO Steve Jobs attests to the
difficulty of doing so. If you read Apple’s first brochure, the headline was
‘Simplicity is the Ultimate Sophistication.’”
His point
is that if you want to communicate, “Keep it simple.” Do not try to dazzle
people with the depth of your knowledge. Do not overpower them with
information. Rather, offer clarity and simplicity.
George Plasterer
is working on this virtue of keeping his writing simple.
A friend emailed me this little comment: Great pondering on simplicity
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