"And I Owe It All to Television": Making Your Case in 30 Seconds or Less

Want to make the acquaintance of the world’s greatest communicator? Allow me to introduce you.

Ladies and gentlemen . . . meet television.

Dazzler of billions, appropriately nicknamed The Glass Teat (or Boob Tube), Baby-Sitter, Goggle Box, and The Eye, television is the master persuader of our age. And whether you agree with the late Ernie Kovacs that “television is a medium because it is neither rare nor well done,” the small screen has much to teach us when it comes to quick and efficient communication.

Television has been spectacularly successful in reducing people’s attention span, for instance—and then has plugged itself snugly into that smaller space. Equally important, T.V. has taught us that critical information succeeds when it is delivered vividly, with a visual kick.

As speakers who must convince listeners in short order—say, in the 30 seconds it takes for audiences to form judgments about us or to deliver an elevator speech—we can benefit from television’s techniques. We too can learn how to broadcast a message concisely yet powerfully and even include a visual component. Here are five ways to do so:

1. Decide on your objective. Let’s start with the persuasive tool par excellence of television: the commercial. Whether you love ‘em or hate ‘em, commercials seduce and persuade like nobody’s business (except the advertiser’s). With extreme conciseness, sponsors show us how to home in on one’s objective and achieve it with maximum efficiency. Advertisers do this because they want to sell, right? Well, so do you! Whether it’s a product, service, idea, or vision, a crystal clear objective to make that “sale” will lead you to the influence you desire. In conceiving your message, give purpose precedence over sheer information.

2. Use an effective hook. Think of a commercial you enjoy (come on, I know you have one). The first time you saw it, weren’t you intrigued at the beginning of the spot? Didn’t the quirky, or startling, or funny, or outrageous nature of the ad pull you right in? Whatever your essential message is when you speak, it won’t resonate unless people are with you when you get to it. If you hook their interest at the start, they’ll be with you at the end. If you don’t, they won’t.

3. State the problem and its solution. Here’s a T.V. commercial of the type you’ve seen many times. It’s a series of visual images: (1) Four-year-old boy chasing the family’s new puppy, laughing and tumbling all over the front lawn. (2) Mom looking at his pants draped over her arm and frowning at the ground-in grass stains. (3) Shot of detergent box. (4) Mom smiling at the same pair of pants, now sparkling clean as she holds them at arm’s length. We get it all: a problem and its solution, presented as succinctly as possible. Television does this seamlessly with visuals. As a speaker, you need to use visuals too, though your brush consists of words. And so you must . . .

4. Paint word pictures. Studies have shown that visual stimuli can be the strongest elements of persuasive nonverbal communication. That means we must not only show visuals when we present our ideas, but speak in visuals as well. Paint a picture with words, and the image will captivate your listeners. Hamlet’s father’s ghost may have said this to the prince: “I could tell you how my own brother murdered me, but it would shock and horrify you too much.” Instead, Shakespeare had the character color his palette this way: “I could a tale unfold whose lightest word would harrow up thy soul, freeze thy young blood, make thy two eyes start from their spheres [and] each particular hair to stand on end like quills upon the porcupine.” Which of those two short speeches packs a wallop?

5. Use stories that illustrate your point. When time is short or the opportunity is fleeting, state your point first then back it up with evidence. Of forms of evidence, stories are among the most powerful that exist. In casting your evidence in the form of a story, you’re saying, “Look, I know that was just data. Let me show you what I mean . . . .” Your illustration that follows, with people involved and a successful outcome will make your information come alive. Tell a story, and you’ll have your listener hooked—which is how you engaged him or her in the first place. Why let them off the hook now?