The document summarizes ideas from workshops with 5,000 people on how to communicate effectively and efficiently. It provides six key points: 1) Don't make excuses or use jargon, bullshit, or politics. 2) Avoid waffling and take time to think before speaking or writing. 3) Focus on making progress rather than perfection. 4) Do quantitative tasks fast with minimum fuss but take time on qualitative tasks. 5) Only call necessary meetings, prepare properly, and don't steal others' time with emails. 6) Be brief, edit first, do worst tasks first, and don't delay.

1. SUMMARY OF IDEAS
FROM WORKSHOPS
WITH 5,000 PEOPLE

2. 1. DON’T MAKE EXCUSES
Get things done
Don’t be vague or evasive
Don’t use jargon
(unless with specialists who know the lingo)
Don’t use bullshit
Keep politics to a minimum

3. 2. HATE WAFFLE
Waffle is the enemy of a clear decision
You can’t talk straight if you can’t think straight
Take the time to think first
Don’t do spontaneous word dumps
If you want to ask a colleague then don’t blunder in and interrup
Instead ask when you can grab five minutes of their time

4. 3. GO FOR PROGRESS
NOT PERFECTION
Perfectionist bosses demoralise staff
by consistently redoing their work
Perfectionists in a team take too long to agonize over things
and put pressure on their colleagues
Go for the highest standards, and finish the job

5. 4. DO IT FAST OR DO IT PROPERLY
Quantitative tasks can neither be done well nor badly,
so get them done fast with the minimum of fuss.
Qualitative tasks need careful time and thought.
By having clear set times for the quant,
we can think harder about the qual.
Always ask: are we just doing it, or are we doing it well?

6. 5. MEETING & EMAIL ETIQUETTE
• Only call meetings when really necessary
• Make them short
• Turn up, prepare properly, stay on theme
• Never touch an email more than once
• Read it, then action it, file it, or delete it
• Use a different medium if you can
• Don’t be an email thief and steal peoples’ time

7. 6. SHARPER, SMARTER, FASTER
Brevity equals intelligence
The shorter the better
Edit first before wasting other peoples’ time
Tasks do not improve if they are delayed, so don’t delay
If in doubt, do the worst first, and free up time for important stu

8. NO EXCUSES
HATE WAFFLE
PROGRESS NOT PERFECTION
DO IT FAST, DO IT PROPERLY
MEETING & EMAIL ETIQUETTE
SHARPER SMARTER FASTER

9. Kevin Duncan
www.expertadviceonline.com
Twitter: @kevinduncan
07979 808770