I recently presented my synopsis of the wonderful book Lincoln’s Greatest Speech:  The Second Inaugural by Ronald C. White Jr.  This was for the Urban Engagement Book Club, sponsored by CitySquare – a group of folks focused on issues revolving around social justice.

This is a really good book!

Mr. White argues that this speech was Lincoln’s greatest.  We, of course, know the last paragraph best:

With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan–to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves, and with all nations.

There are so many terrific points to discuss about this book, and about this speech.  But here is one to note:  the speech is 703 words.  President Lincoln spoke at a pace of about 100 words per minute, so the speech took about 7 minutes.  (The Gettysburg Address was shorter, at 272 words).

So, here is your communication tip of the day, from President Lincoln.  Be precise.

Here is the way Ronald White Jr. put it about Mr. Lincoln (from the book):

The opposite of verbose is not simple. Lincoln was not bent on brevity alone. He was intent on precision. Sometimes precision might mean more.

It reminds us all of the famous advice from William Zinsser’s On Writing Well:

“…the secret of good writing is to strip every sentence to its cleanest components. Every word that serves no function, every long word that could be a short word, every adverb that carries the same meaning that’s already in the verb, every passive construction that leaves the reader unsure of who is doing what — these are the thousand and one adulterants that weaken the strength of a sentence.”

So, your communication tip of the day is to be precise.  Use fewer words – but the right words.  Say it/write it clearly, precisely.

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You can read Lincoln’s speech at the wonderful web site, American Rhetoric.  Go here for the text of the speech.