One of my favorite church signs that I’ve ever seen says: “Come hear our pastor. He’s not very good, but he’s quick.”
In storytelling, you should always try to say less. Shorter is better. Fewer words rule. The twenty-minute commencement address is almost always better than the forty-minute address. The thirty-minute meeting is almost always more effective than the sixty-minute meeting. The six-minute story is almost always better than the ten-minute story. And yes, the shorter sermon is always better than the longer sermon.
As Blaise Pascal first said, “If I had more time, I would have written you a shorter letter.” Brevity takes time, because brevity is always better.
The longer you speak, the more engaging, amusing, and captivating you must be. That’s a tall order. Those are high expectations. Most people are not engaging, amusing, or captivating by nature.
But that’s okay. As the sign says, you don’t have to be nearly as good if you can be quick. Shorter is also harder. I often tell storytellers that it’s easy to tell an eight- to ten-minute story. Almost anyone can find a way to get from beginning to end in ten minutes.
But it’s hard to tell a five- to six-minute story. It means making difficult choices about what will stay and what will go. It requires careful crafting and clever construction. Words and phrases must be expertly manipulated. Your choices must be spot-on. But the results are often superior.
One of the most popular stories that I tell is about four minutes long. Although the story is good and actually won a Moth StorySLAM, I remain convinced that audiences like it because it’s short. I pack a ton of suspense and humor and heart into four minutes, making the story seem exceedingly satisfying.
I could easily turn that four-minute gem into a longer, more complex story, and I nearly did when The Moth asked me to tell it on their Mainstage. I began expanding the story, finding areas to explore in more depth, and while the results would have been excellent, I think the pace and hilarity of the story might have suffered greatly.
Ultimately, we decided on a different story for that show, so I never had the chance to see the results of the longer story. But here is what I know:
The longer you speak, the more perfect and precise you must be. The longer you stand in front of an audience — whether it be a theater or a boardroom — the more entertaining and engaging your words must be.
So speak less. Make time your ally.