Brevity is hard to achieve with the written word as well.  In TV news, the old adage among writers is “That it’s not hard to write well.  It’s hard to write short!”  

When I interviewed Intel Co-Founder, Andy Grove I was struck by the concision as well as the precision of his language. (Jacques Cousteau was even more elegant in his speech).  Precise thinkers speak with a disciplined care that makes them more discerning in their thinking, their ideas and then their conclusions and advice… everything! 

There’s a lot of interesting research on whether language precedes thought.  Thought and language certainly rely on each other.  As a correspondent and anchorman I had to ad lib in very short and exact time segments. You could also lose your job if you uttered an expletive.  So, I learned to be very careful with my speech which required modifying my habits.  For instance, I stopped swearing completely. 

If you are deliberate with your speech, you will be more respectful of the facts (and hopefully of others) which requires that you be more rigorous with your memory, data, analysis, opinion and judgment.  And ultimately you’ll be more wedded to reality. 

On the subject of language, pay attention to those for whom English is a second or third language.  The smart ones use words so much more creatively and often more precisely than those of us for whom English is our first language.  It can help shake up one’s stale thinking and sometimes it’s funny, wacky or sexy… sometimes all in the same phrase. 

Gannedi Nedvigin of the San Francisco Ballet, once described this Japanese spa which he would frequent on his days off.  Someone asked this ripped Principal dancer if he was ever watched or even propositioned in the baths and he carefully repeated the word, “Propp-oh-zih-shunned?” then answered, “No.  But they watch… too many sneaky eyes!” 

Too often, native English speakers get lazy and fall back on a kind of short hand full of banal clichés and idiomatic expressions.  The most trite as I write: “It is what it is.”  If that’s all you have to add, then be a well and just listen.  

Series on the 19 Personality Traits of Successsful People

Donald Van de Mark has interviewed hundreds of leaders in business and politics including: Andrew Weil, MD, former U.S. Senator Bill Bradley, Jack Welch, Starbucks' Howard Schultz and Intel's Andy Grove, in his nearly 3 decades as a correspondent and anchor at CNN, CNBC and public television.

He integrates practical tips from these great leaders to provide a riveting motivational speech on the personality traits of successful people. Donald is also the host of the corporate training video, The Wisdom of Caring Leaders.