Idea 24: How the best leaders communicate
Speak properly, and in as few words as you can, but always plainly; for the end of speech is not ostentation, but to be understood.
William Penn, social reformer and founder of Pennsylvania
If you wish to communicate effectively you have to do so in the language and thought idioms of your audience. This principle is especially important for you as a leader. You want your hearers not only to understand you but also to take action in the way you want. To that end, you have to be able to inspire people while you inform them.
Writing to Lady Hamilton in October 1805 from HMS Victory, Lord Nelson described the reaction of his captains to the strategy he outlined for the impending Battle of Trafalgar:
I joined ...
