{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Ben Guttmann on the Power of Simplicity","description":" We are not as smart as we think we are.  We're busy and distracted in a world that is incentivized to continually make us more of both. The only things that work, the only messages that cut through the noise, are sharp, clear, and direct. We\u2019ve all been advised to \u201cnot judge a book by its cover,\u201d to \u201cnot count your chickens before they hatch,\u201d and that \u201cRome wasn\u2019t built in a day.\u201d Maybe for you, what comes to mind is something political, like Patrick Henry\u2019s revolutionary \u201cGive me liberty, or give me death!\u201d or more recently, Barack Obama\u2019s \u201cYes We Can.\u201d Now think for a second about the other few thousand messages you heard in the past 24 hours \u2013things told to you, like ads, warnings, instructions, or even things you\u2019ve sought out, like articles, social media posts, or stories.  How many of them do you actually remember? How many of the things that you\u2019ve said, do other people remember? Do they actually even hear what you\u2019re saying? The answer is simple. Literally. Simple. Regardless if these messages are trying to get your dollars, your votes, or just your thoughts, the most effective messages all share one thing. They-are-simple. Ben Guttmann is interested in the things and ideas that move people - why we make the decisions we make; why we vote for who we vote for; why we buy the products we buy, and ultimately, why we do what we do. We did a deep dive into his new book, Simply Put: Why Clear Messages Win-and How to Design Them. It emphasizes the importance of clear communication, and we discussed why he believes clarity is such a critical skill, both personally and professionally. Simply Put offers strategies for simplifying complex ideas and messages. Ben stepped me through the key principles and techniques listeners can use to streamline their communication effectively. It was a fun and informative conversation with one of the best. Ben\u2019s work is a gift to not only his students, but to all of us who want to communicate more clearly, and simply. ","author_name":"Living A Life In Full","author_url":"http:\/\/www.alifeinfull.org\/podcast.html","html":"