At times too many ‘words’ in longish stuff that some of us write, have elicited views of loyal reader friends about being lengthy and consequently less readable. In our old friends’ chat, I was once asked to give my views on an exhaustive article by a friend, which I did in an explanatory style. The curt response from a cynic was ‘Executive Summary Please !’ (yes, quite like ones we used to submit to our Bosses since they were supposed to be overloaded with bulky notes and files). To us it can be a reminder of the academic importance of that ‘French’ word called ‘Precis’ !
For the uninitiated, word ‘Precis’ means summarizing the process of writing a lengthy passage that can be described in a few words without changing it’s main theme or idea. In the good old school days ‘Precis’ writing fetched marks from English teachers but while working as young Officers, it became challenging since a ‘Summary’ meant a well-presented form of statements or notes containing headings & sub-headings, that busy Bosses could put their fingers on. But, retired citizens like us now have an unhindered liberty to express without a word limit and many have the propensity to talk and write at length ! Yes, we tend to repeat even ‘golden words’ !
However, this is the age of short forms, abbreviations & minimal one-word responses since Millennial and Gen Zee have little time to read. This is often attributed to ‘low attention span’ and ‘let’s get on with it’ syndrome ! If a heartfelt, emotional message receives a one-word reply (or worse, is ignored), that’s sad for the sender. It’s heart-breaking getting a cryptic emoji or a one-word ‘Cool !’ response to profoundly expressed thoughts. Slowly, Gen Zee has relegated long hand to medieval era -it’s Insta ‘Reels’ showtime !
The incomparable Shakespeare gave us the famous lines ‘Brevity is the Soul of Wit’ ! When it comes to humour and repartee it must be crisp, short and have punch in it. Every stand-up comic artist these days uses a maximum of three sentences before the final punchline to get the laughs, else he must face the boos ! A much-married family man was asked to say ‘Do Shabdh’ at the family event where the relatives were speaking endlessly. He got up, said ‘Thank You’ and sat down, having played his part.
What’s the ideal length for articles (or talks)? At times they’re fixed by the publishers. Organisers request speakers to be short. But unhindered freelancers write their hearts out their own way to make an impact. Yet, there’s no guarantee that they’ll be read
Working on Living 