ABSTRACT
Listening to the eulogy a young man once delivered about his beloved father I was inspired as he told a story that very succinctly portrays the essence of effective communication. It seems that the young son was beginning to make his mark in the business world and was rapidly moving up in the Fortune 500 company where he worked. As he began to be noticed by his superiors he gradually assumed more and more responsibility and received assignments that required public speaking. Attempting to share his success with his retired father and believing it would show the respect he held for him, the young man told his father of an up and coming event wherein he would be making a presentation before a rather large audience. Recognizing that his father had a lot of experience in the field of public speaking he was anxious to demonstrate his abilities and get his dad’s reaction. He then asked if his father would like to listen to what he had to say and that he, the son, would appreciate any comments he might have. Of course, his father was eager to hear what his son had to say. The young man began and rattled on for some time. All the while the dutiful father sat silently listening to his son. Finally, after the talk dragged on and on, the older man could no longer restrain himself. “Excuse me son! I have listened for quite a while now and I would like to offer a few comments for your consideration.” “Sure dad go right ahead.” His father began by saying, “Everything you are saying is important and it very nicely fills all of the squares, but if you want to hold on to your audience you need to do just three things.” With eagerness to learn the secrets of success the young man said, “What are they?” His father replied, “Well, when you are addressing a large group the best things you can do to keep their attention are, one be specific, two be brief, and three be seated.”
