Stop BLABbering!

What’s the major cause of talking too long and losing your audience?

It’s something I’ve observed for too many presentations, and even one-on-one conversations. In fact, it’s the principal reason that many of my clients hire me to train their staff to become better communicators, because it’s one of their biggest sources of personal frustration—especially when they suffer through seemingly endless technical presentations.

I’m sure by now you’re wondering what it is, and I’m in danger of losing you, because I’m actually doing it to you right now.

Instead of getting right to the point, I’m taking the “long and winding road” or “tell them how to build a watch” approach, and I’m sure you’re familiar with it. In fact, by now you’re probably asking yourself, “Are we there yet?”

I call it BLAB, or Bottom Line At Bottom. As you can see, it’s frustrating, time-consuming, and even confusing.

What’s the antidote to BLAB? Simply put your bottom line at the top—start with BLUF: Bottom Line Up Front.

What if, instead, I had begun by saying: “The major cause of talking too long and losing your audience is putting your bottom line at the bottom”?

That would have helped you because you would have understood my main point unequivocally up front while you were paying full attention. At that point, you may have told me you agreed and I could have stopped. Or you may have wanted to hear my reasoning, and I could have given it to you, but at least you would have had the advantage of knowing the destination of the journey we’re going on together.

If you’re in love with BLAB, take heart: there’s still a use for it. Go ahead and use it as a summary and a call to action, if you’d like—but only as a bookend to BLUF.

But the bottom line is: move this line to the top.