‘From bellman to twitter – the lessons for today’

William Shakespeare, a master of the spoken and written word never read a ‘proper’ newspaper; they didn’t exist in any great form when he was alive. Important announcements, messages and warnings would be proclaimed by the town crier / bellman. These were clear, succinct and to the point  – and the Bellman’s proclamation (shout) would be, typically, half a minute long.  The bellman’s posted notice would be on a single page and written so the ‘common man (assuming he could read) would understand it .  No ‘flashing’ powerpoint images (or even ‘non flashing’ ones); just concise verbal and spoken clarity.

Jump forward a few hundred years (and a few trillion powerpoint slides) and we come to twitter. Expert tweeters among you will know the skill in getting your point across in 140 characters or less. We live in a world on newspaper, tv and media communications but we can learn a lot from the ‘bellman and twitter’ demands for clarity and brevity. We also live in a world of powerpoint and have enjoyed its usefulness and endured its ghastliness. If I had £1 for every powerpoint presentation I have slept though, I would be very rich as well as being very rested.

‘From Bellman to Twitter – the lessons for today’ happens to be the title of my latest set of speeches and workshops. What a lucky coincidence. You can find out more at http://www.williamfreeman.co.uk  Look at the ‘training’ page – and, while you are there, take a look at the other pages too. Oyez!