“There are some that only employ words for the purpose of disguising their thoughts.“
-Voltaire
I speak often to audiences of Japanese English speakers. Though many of them function at a very high level of fluency, English is not their native language. It can be very frustrating to prepare a presentation for such an audience.
First to go is the high level vocabulary, then the slang and idioms that seem to slip almost unnoticed into our speech. Complex grammar has to be cut down into bite-sized pieces. Cultural references get the ax too. “Gee, Wally” isn’t going to play as well in Tokyo as it does in Toledo. If I want to connect and communicate with my audience, it’s all got to go.
In the end, all I have to work with is basic, unadorned English; common words, simple grammar and short sentences. I’m left with nothing but that and the quality of my thoughts, the logic of my argument or the validity of my experience.
And that’s a good thing. For of such limits comes the art of straight, honest communication. Far from impoverishing my script, stripping away euphemism, slang and pointless grammatical embellishment tightens my thinking, snaps the kinks out of my logic and sharpens my meager wit.
It has made me a far better writer and speaker because it has forced me to be simple, clear and direct. I can’t hide behind euphemisms. I can’t subtly imply thoughts I’m not willing to voice. I can’t use rhetorical flourishes to gloss over gaps in my logic.
To steal from the master, Dr. Seuss, I have to say what I mean and mean what I say.
Far too often, when we speak it is to disguise our thoughts; to avoid committing ourselves to a position, to imply without taking responsibility for our words or to sound serious and important when we have nothing to say.
Simple and clear may not be as impressive to your audience, but as a speaker, there is no more noble goal.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Clear and Simple nails it, Ruskyle, and it needn’t just apply to Japanese English speakers!
The same applies to slides. What a coincidence!
Remove the clutter, get rid of text, and use high quality, universally understood images.
Thanks for the Post!
So true, Fred. It applies to every aspect of speaking and to a lot of other fields as well. A friend of mine who is a mathematics professor tells me that it is the dream of every mathematician to derive that one elegantly simple, yet profound, formula in their career; their own, e=mc2.
Russ:
An excellent post. I remember listening to shortwave radio broadcasts back in junior high school. The Voice of America used Special English http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_English
It was interesting to hear how well a limited controlled vocabulary could be used to clearly communicate information.
Nice post, Russ. One cannot say enough about the importance of keeping things simple (as paradoxical as that sounds!).
One of my all-time favourite quotes comes from Leonardo da Vinci: “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”
Cheers!
John
Ain’t that the truth, John
Thank you for sharing this article. Makes me think back to the days we presented to audiences with a translator (Arabic!). We had frequent checks and feedback to ensure audience were following what was being said – the right way.
We sometimes forget such checks when there is an English speaking audience.