How to be heard in a world of wild claims

In a world of wild claims be the person offering evidence-based insight, writes Bernard Salt.

I was in my mid-twenties when I discovered the joy of punctuation. It came as I was writing my thesis. The revelation was delivered by a teacher, my supervisor, who reviewed every word and patiently explained the purpose and the correct positioning of a comma, a semicolon, an em-dash and my personal favourite, the enigmatic ellipsis. I was taught when and where to italicise a word, how to structure a sentence. My supervisor would take a pencil, circle a single word and reposition it within the sentence, saying: “Do you not see, Bernard, that this is a more elegant way of expressing your point?” And it was; I could see it. More to the point, I could see breaches of the punctuation protocol in all manner of written communication.

A colon and not a semicolon introduces a list. An ellipsis has three dots … precisely. In my view a comma should be used sparingly – judiciously, even – for its overuse suggests a contempt by the writer for the reader, not trusting their ability to grasp a thought. Commas in particular and punctuation in general create a tension and build a relationship between writer and reader. It’s quite personal when you think about it.

A few years later I had another revelatory experience when the Apple Mac desktop computer was released with data management capabilities. All of a sudden it was possible to instantly sort vast datasets from highest to lowest. Just as punctuation corralled and controlled wayward words into powerful statements, a desktop computer organised data enabling emphatic insight. This place, this spot, this patch of dirt is the fastest growing part of Australia. It was and it remains powerful stuff.

There are several points to be made from these so-called revelations. The first is that it takes a talented teacher to know precisely when to offer the right advice. It is fair to say my career for 40 years was shaped by the revelatory experience of learning to organise and control words for impact and effect.

I have found that the Australian public generally and the business community specifically are both engaged by a well-articulated argument, or analysis, supported by metrics. This is why I see a link between punctuation and grammar, and the use of data: both are required to deliver an impact.

Where datapoints aren’t available or cannot be logically cited, then assembling evidence, benchmarks and examples to prove a point is the way to go. And when these benchmarks are cited they must be tied to a source and quoted accurately. Always explain the context and the authority of the source. It elevates the impact of any subsequent evidence.

And so this is what a career in consulting, in the media, in presenting insight to the business community and to wider audiences has taught me. Learn the technical skills of communication including the tools that will make your words stand apart. Be emphatic where the evidence allows. Cite examples, metrics and evidence. An audience should get the impression that you have the ability to recall data points endlessly and effortlessly.

In a world of wild claims be the person offering evidence-based insight. At the end of the day compelling evidence tied to elegant prose will always win out.