HR Communication Lesson: You’re the Executive Editor
Posted on Thursday, March 27, 2008 by Frank Roche
He can compress the most words into the smallest ideas of any man I ever met.
–Abraham Lincoln
Have you ever spent a bunch of time creating a presentation — okay, I’ll say it, PowerPoint — feel really good about it, and then have one person make a comment that you should completely reorganize it? Then you do that, show it around again, and another person says, “It should have more lead in.” Then you show it to a group and two others give their opinion and you end up changing it even more?
STOP!
Here’s what I know about employee communication after having done it for the last 150 years: Group editing doesn’t work. Neither does responding to every comment as if it has to be responded to. It’s funny, there are people who are creators, and then there are junior editors. In fact, everyone thinks they’re an editor. They’re not. You’re the executive editor. Take feedback. Make decisions. Get outta there.
You have to stick to your guns if you want your writing to be good. That includes, yep, PowerPoint. Your PowerPoint presentation isn’t War and Peace. Heck, it’s not even the Cliff’s Notes. Don’t let pseudo-editors try to wedge every last idea and slide into your presentation. Stick to your guns. As Davy Crockett said, “Know you’re right, and then move ahead.”
Timo
Mar 27th, 2008
Great!
Thank you for this article, which made me smile.
i was part of this “group editing”, during a few publications (not presentations), that i wrote and it was awful to organize a dozen of editors…
Virg Setzer
Mar 27th, 2008
Your guidance is right on. And also we each have our own style and approach that is unique — that uniqueness adds value — you can not be someone else – gain input and feedback, but then you decide what you are most comfortable with and make the presentation yours – you will then present with full ownership and it will show!
Virg
Frank Roche
Mar 27th, 2008
Hi Timo.
Thanks much. That group editing gig is no joy. At the end, no one is completely happy, and the product suffers. I’m a fan of one strong editor and a great writer working together. Then it’s magic.
Frank Roche
Mar 27th, 2008
Virg, that’s the essence, to give a presentation or a written piece a “voice.” It really does show!
JT
Mar 27th, 2008
One of the beautiful outcomes of your advice is that your work is more authentic. People like authentic. Authentic is also much, much easier to present.
Frank Roche
Mar 27th, 2008
Authentic. That’s the word, JT.