I post frequently on LinkedIn, usually 2-3 times per day, mostly on topics related to leadership development. These posts can include articles I come across, blogs I write, or quotes I gather from various sources.
This week, I saw the most “likes” I’d ever received on any LinkedIn post, by far. It was a quote from the late, great, Albert Einstein, which roughly 40 people have liked, commented on, or re-posted so far:
Millions of posts flow across LinkedIn each day. Only a fraction can stand out to any single user. Why did this quote garner so much more interaction from my network than the other items I share?
I think it’s because each of us is hungry for simplicity. Not just hungry, but starving. Not just starving, perhaps, but desperate, malnourished, emotionally emaciated, driven to the point of extreme solutions!
In particular, I love to hear simple communication from others. By simple, I don’t mean simplistic; rather, I’m referring to concise yet complete communication.
And guess what? Other people love it when we deliver that kind of communication as well. 🙂
The heart of the challenge is that our attention spans are inundated with responsibilities and data. We get caught in the trap of being too rushed or reactive in our communications, neither of which leads to the kind of effective simplicity that’s needed.
Thankfully, our communications can be strategically simple if we’re willing to focus and practice the art of pausing, reflecting, and fully thinking through what we want to say. Not over-thinking, but thinking through the message, recipients, and intended outcomes just enough to ensure the message is concise and complete.
What opportunity did you seize this past week to do just that, and how did it go? What chances will you have next week to communicate with powerful simplicity, and generate the kind of responses you’re intending?
