One of my favorite books when I was in fifth grade was Cheaper by the Dozen and, while the large family was intriguing to someone with only one sibling, the idea that one could save time and increase productivity by eliminating extraneous motions in all aspects of life, including bathing, was one that would stay with me. Later, in high school, I was introduced to Strunk & White’s Elements of Style and embraced the idea of simple language perhaps a bit too wholeheartedly. I often had trouble meeting the minimum page requirements for papers because I just didn’t see the point of going on if I’d said all I wanted.
This is not to say I don’t have a tendency to ramble or waste time. I do both of those things when I’m not paying attention. Unless I'm under a deadline, I have a disregard for clocks that can drive other people (like my husband) insane. My father is the same way. But like my father, I tend to look at the way something is organized and try to figure out a way to turn the path from point A to point Q into a shorter path. Point A to point M, maybe. Or perhaps it is possible to start at point C. I don’t like to compromise quality; I just like to figure out what isn’t necessary and eliminate that part.
This part of my personality thoroughly enjoyed the “Simple” chapter in Made to Stick. I like the idea of getting to the core of a concept and keeping the message compact. And I appreciated that Heath and Heath emphasized that this did not mean “dumbing down” an idea since I hate that phrase more than almost any other. However, since I’ve been struggling with my one minute video for Ripple of One, I also found it a bit daunting to read that “great simple ideas have an elegance and utility that makes them function a lot like proverbs.” I can believe this and I admire this, but all I’ve got right now is simple and clumsy. I haven’t figured out the core or the lead for my video and I don’t have much of a story. There’s nothing unexpected. At least, not yet. It’s possible that I’ve listened to the video clips too many times and the message is now an old one to me. I don’t even have any ideas that I could implement if I had greater technical skills (though my lack in that area is definitely an additional roadblock).
I want to tell Jessica’s story. I really do. She seems to be working hard on her goals. And ultimately, I think I will end up with a simple video and a fairly straightforward story. Before I read the two sections in Made to Stick, simple seemed okay. But simple and compelling at the same time? I’m going to try and re-examine what I do have and see if I can determine a core message. I may have to step back a little. While I was reading about knowledge gaps in the “Unexpected” chapter, I couldn’t help but think of movie trailers, especially the longer ones that play in movie theaters. Periodically, I’ll watch one and decide that I’ve seen enough, not because the movie seemed bad (though usually they do) but because I suspect I actually just saw the whole movie condensed into a minute or two. Perhaps I can create a “trailer” for Jessica? Minus the explosions and body-shaking audio, of course. Her story isn’t over, so maybe the gap can be the ending.
It’s boggling how much thought needs to go into simplicity and how much planning needs to go into determining what’s unexpected.
P.S. Since Heath and Heath mentioned one way to get the attention of air passengers, I thought I'd remind everyone of "The Bare Essentials of Safety".
