Brevity is one of the most critical attributes of practical eloquence, because you’re dealing with ever-shrinking attention spans and the discipline of distilling your message to its essence will greatly clarify your thinking.
Here’s one of the best examples of brief eloquence that I’ve come across.
When General Ira Eaker led the first contingents of the 8th Air Force to England in 1942, hopes were running high for America to add its muscle to the war against Nazi Germany. So, when he was asked to speak at a luncheon, the audience was poised to hang on his every word. Here’s his speech, in its entirety:
“We won’t do much talking until we’ve done more fighting. After we’ve gone, we hope you’ll be glad we came.”
He sat down amid thunderous applause.
If you have any other examples of brief but powerful messages, please share them.
Sometimes a lifetime of achievement can be decisively affected by your performance during several crucial minutes.
Twenty-one people spoke at the Democratic National Convention in Boston on July 27, 2004, including such well-known names as Edward Kennedy and Jesse Jackson. One speaker was a virtually unknown candidate for the Senate in Illinois, and his performance that night radically changed the trajectory of his career. Barack Obama seized his moment to stand out above the crowd and used it as a springboard to the most powerful job in the world.
