The S word. No, not superfluous. And not stuff.
Not even the ever-popular storytelling trending among career counselors, bloggers and brand marketers.
SPECIFIC
The S word you need to heed is Specific.
Specific comes before Success, in practice and in the dictionary.
Specific is essential when speaking, when writing, when telling that all-important story about your talents and accomplishments, your contribution to the workplace, the way you turned around a team-brought in profits- inspired donors-engaged students-launched a product line-shaped a brand-got people jobs they love-got great clients.
Specific means being clear about:
- who benefitted
- what made it important/critical/essential/significant
what you did - what has you jazzed about it
Specific means being clear about your message and your intention.
Specific tasks you to focus on what you want your audience to remember.
Sharp, clear, focused, powerful, relevant, affirmative, presumptive.
-“I” statements to show you own your contribution.
– Action verbs that are vivid.
– Words that convey VALUES, that tell us what’s important and what’s at stake.
Specific does not mean sharing every detail and email that you wrote.
Specific does not mean getting into the weeds.
Specific does not mean giving the history of what came before, unless it helps make the case for how you turned things around.
Specific does not mean lots of numbers, or overwhelming facts.
Dwell in the gestalt of specific. It’s sharp. It’s pointed. The word ends with a hard consonant.
What it’s not is soft and fuzzy. It’s not full of stuff and sort of and things and like, you know.
Specific is not superfluous. No “really, always, never, or very.” No exaggerating!
Specific is just the facts, ma’am.
Specific is knowing the sharp point(s) and making sure to emphasize and punctuate.
Specific is the pitch that thwacks roundly on the bat, hits a home run and has the crowd cheering.
Nailing that pitch takes time and practice, focus and attention, muscle and commitment. To setting your sights, taking aim and slowly and surely stepping in and going for it. Again and again. Until it lands squarely.
Specific is satisfying.
Get in shape for your next at-bat by dropping the stuff that’s superfluous and honing in on the point you want to deliver.