No harm in being brief, but don't forget to think

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This was published as the first of my weekly columns in The National .

"Just make sure you're not boring," was the advice my boss gave me as I stood up to deliver my first ever presentation to the company directors. I was an over-enthusiastic trainee, trying to impress my superiors.

"Right, Not-Boring" I repeated, having no idea how to achieve this nebulous goal. My topic was the creation of network computing technologies in the consumer and small-enterprise markets. My chances of success were slim.

The lights dimmed and the slide projector came to life. When none of the 30 attendees fell asleep, I felt I'd achieved a small victory (the low expectations of a graduate trainee). I'd employed jokes, self-deprecation, and created a bond with the audience about my subject matter curing insomnia. These had certainly helped. But you'd be surprised how tough it is to be Not-Boring.

The problem of course is not we, the protagonists. We – of course – are extremely interesting. It's the audience that's the problem: short attention spans. Apparently the modern brain has been mangled by the internet.

An Oxford University expert recently warned that constant computer and internet use may be "rewiring the brain", shortening attention spans and causing a loss of empathy. Does your partner spend more time with their iPhone or BlackBerry than with you? That's because you talk too

courtesy braintraining101

much, but the phone delivers bite-sized chunks of electronic joy. Do you feel as if your friends will attend to your emotional needs only if you can express your feelings in a Facebook status? That's the fault of the internet.

In short, short is good, in today's world.

"If you can't say it in 140 characters," say the Twitter-philes, today's avant-garde lovers of brevity, "then it's not worth saying at all." Perhaps they have a point. Consider a number of famous phrases from various spheres. Religion: "There is no god but Allah, Mohammed is the (last) messenger of Allah", 68 characters. World events: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind", 57 characters. Gender relations: "You don't love me anymore, cos I'm fat, all because I gave birth to your child! I'm looking after the baby and you're after those floozies!" 139 characters. On reflection, you can get a lot of marital whining into one Twitter message.

Brevity has its value in getting rid of unnecessary verbiage. Text messaging, Twitter and even the relatively mundane TV ticker have revolutionised the way that we are able to source vital information, or stay in touch with those who are dear to us.

These benefits have overshadowed the important fact that we still need to deliver complex ideas in speech and print, and engage in conversation, oratory and writing – skills that are slowly being eroded. We still need to ignite people's passion and humanity to create change, and it is the eloquence of speech and text that can do this.

I'm not part of the brigade whining about the loss of traditional thought processes. To the contrary, I believe that our brains should be best adapted to the environment in which they operate.

What I do mourn is the detriment to our attention spans, which leads to the loss of the pleasure of listening to a well-crafted speech, the capacity for deep thought or the escape into imagined worlds when reading lyrical text.

So when you are faced with your next challenge to be Not-Boring, my advice would be this: remember, it's not just what you say, nor how succinctly you say it. The magic comes from the craft you employ, and the way you convey your ideas.

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