Human Talk: Keep it Simple (Guest Post by Larry Winget)

I like straight talk.  Simple communication.  I don’t see a lot of it unless you count the monosyllabic grunt given me by the unconcerned, bored doofus handing me my cup of coffee after my handing him $4.00.  

Setting good grammar aside (which is exactly what most Americans have done), let’s just look at simple, straightforward communication that makes sense.  

While walking through an office recently, I noticed a sign hanging outside of a small conference room that said:  “Information Relevant To This Room Will Be Posted Here When Applicable.”  What does that mean?

I did a speech in the ballroom of a big hotel where a sign was posted at the back of the room that said:  “Unconcentrated Occupancy 450.  Concentrated Occupancy 527.”  Does that mean that if we all really focus and concentrate, we can squeeze in 77 more people?

I ran across a sign in a K-Mart not long ago that said:  “Restroom Closed.  Please Use Snack bar.”   I lost both my appetite and my need to use the restroom at that point.

Signs like this are everywhere.  Just pay attention and you will see them.  But these signs are just ridiculous symptoms of a bigger problem.  The bigger problem is that we make things harder than they really are.  We complicate success, customer service, getting rich, being healthy, sales, leadership . . . you name it, we complicate it.  Know why?  If we make things seem harder than they really are, then we will have an excuse for not doing well.  I don’t think there is an excuse for not doing well.  I think everyone can do well.  Especially when they realize that things aren’t hard or complicated at all.  

All of my bestselling books have been about how success is pretty simple.  If you want to know all of my simple little ideas on how to do better in business, life and with your finances, you have to pony up the money and buy the books. But here is my all time, number one rule for success both personally and professionally:  Do what you said you would do, when you said you would do it, the way you said you would do it.  That’s it.  Simple enough, huh?  That is all your employer wants from you.  That is all you want from your employer.  That’s all your spouse wants from you and all you want from your spouse.  Same thing applies to your kids.  And that is all any customer ever wants when they do business and share their money with someone.  

The problem is that my idea is so simple, people overlook it.  Therein lies the danger in simple ideas and simple communications:  they get downgraded because they don’t sound complicated enough.  Don’t make that mistake.  Keep it simple!

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Larry Winget is the New York Times/Wall Street Journal bestselling author of It’s Called Work For A Reason, Shut Up, Stop Whining & Get A Life, and his newest book, #1 Bestseller, You’re Broke Because You Want To Be: How To Stop Getting By and Start Getting Ahead.  He is also the star of A&E’s Big Spender and a member of the International Speaker Hall Of Fame.  Larry is continuously featured as a guest of news and talk shows and is considered a personal development/business/financial guru to hundreds of thousands of people around the world.  Visit www.larrywinget.com for more information.

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This post is part of the Human Talk series. 

If you would like to contribute your good or bad Human Talk examples, Email me. I’ll accept photos, stories, videos, audio, etc. and give credit where credit is due.