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Better English 101
Tips For Communicating Better
Vol I, No. 7
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In this issue
-- 1. MARVELOUSLY CONDENSED
-- 2. MARVELOUSLY SIMPLE LANGUAGE
-- 3. HIS WORDS WERE SINCERE
-- 4. REPETITION

Jesus As A Communicator

I did mention that the next issue would be about arguably the most important political speech in our history. But why am I bringing it to you attention?

Bruce Barton, one of the most influential advertising men of the twentieth century, published "The Man Nobody Knows: A Discovery of the Real Jesus," in 1924. It's a classic work that describes Jesus as the founder of modern business. But equally important, according to Barton, we can look at Jesus as a master communicator also. And that's where the famous speech is relevant.

In chapter five, Barton maintains that every advertising man should study the parables of Jesus. They contain four powerful elements that I think any writer-- not just advertising copywriters--can benefit from.

For back issues, please see the archive by clicking on the newsletter quick link below.

1. MARVELOUSLY CONDENSED
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 He hated prosy dullness and long, aimless utterances. Barton remembers the new reporter who was told to cut his story to a column. He protested that the article was too big to be compressed into so small a space. The editor told him to read the first chapter of Genesis, where the whole story of the creation of the world is told in 600 words.

Then Barton reminds us of the Gettysburg battleground. Do you remember who gave the first speech that lasted almost two hours? Of course not.

But we all know who spoke next. Abraham Lincoln's address was only 250 words. Is there a more powerful speech in American history?

Barton declares that the greatest poem ever written is only 128 words: The Twenty-Third Psalm.

What would Jesus say about our prayers, our speeches, our advertisements, and our autobiographies that go on for hundreds of pages because, in the words of one of my authors, "It's too important to leave out." Sure it is.


2. MARVELOUSLY SIMPLE LANGUAGE
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 There is hardly a sentence that a child or your grandmother can't understand. And his illustrations are from common experiences--"a sower went forth to sow," and "a certain man had two sons," and "a man built his house on the sands."

He used few modifiers, no three-syllable words, and few two-syllable words. Look at these classics mentioned earlier:

"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want."

"Four score and seven years ago."

3. HIS WORDS WERE SINCERE
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 Who Jesus was and what he said were one and the same thing. No writer who writes down to her readers can be successful. Barton insists that little children "know no pretense and are startlingly frank. They look at the world through clear eyes and say only what they think." No writer will go too far if she cannot "humble herself and partake of their nature."

And the successful communications that persuade people to act are written by people who have respect for the intelligence of their readers and sincerity about the merits of what they are selling or proposing.

4. REPETITION
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 Jesus knew the necessity for repetition and practiced it. No important truth can be impressed upon large numbers of people if said only once. Says Barton, "The thoughts which Jesus had to give to the world were revolutionary, but they were few in number." It was the same big idea, but many stories, many advertisements.

In one story God is the shepherd searching for one wandering sheep; in another, a father welcoming home a prodigal son, and in another, a king who forgives debtors large amounts.

In conclusion, if you want to teach people by communicating, what you say and write should be simple, brief, and sincere. Then repeat it.

Let's see how the presidential candidates--those who would lead us--follow this model.

Best wishes,
Barry Beckham


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