This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

Two letters to the editor of the Wall Street Journal struck a chord with me when it advocated short speeches as the best way to communicate with any audience.

Short good.  Long bad.

The letters appeared under the headline that I used for this blog.

Here is the way the first letter started:

“In her op-ed, ‘Hall of Fame Tips for Presidential Candidates,’ Merrie Spaeth states that ‘speeches should be governed by the time available,’ and calls this a manifestation of the Peter Principle.  The more appropriate analogy is to Parkinson’s law, which states, in general, that a resource will be consumed in full whether the task necessitates it or not.  In this context, a speech expands or contracts to fit the time allotted.

“Parkinson’s law has many corollaries.  For example, a one-hour meeting will accomplish the same as a half-hour meeting.  My favorite observation is that a group of people walking down a sidewalk will always expand to fill the sidewalk.

“Another great speaking tip, an adaptation of the old Teddy Roosevelt tip, I heard from a CEO speaking to a class of mine:  ‘Stand up to be seen. Speak up to be heard. Sit down to be appreciated.’”

Here is a summary of the second letter:

“The tips on public speaking remind me of advice my father once gave: Leave your audience wanting more.  He later proved it.

“At the family celebration of my parents’ golden wedding anniversary, my dad had three carousels ready, with 81 slides each, for his narrative reflection on the past 50 years.  One hour in and with not a carousel yet completed, with adult children nodding off and grandchildren screaming, my mother pulled the plug on the projector.  Yes, leave your audience wanting more, not less.”

Again, good advice.

I remember various times when former President Bill Clinton droned on and on while delivering a political message.  It may have been a good message, but it was drowned in his long-winded delivery.

Another example:  At a recent U.S. Girls Junior America’s Cup tournament, the speaker, at an opening banquet, droned on for 40 minutes.  I would have been asleep. No doubt the players were, too.

In future such events, the speech limit should be about 5-8 minutes.  Say something important.  Then sit down. 

Applause would erupt.

It’s not the same as giving a speech, but I also remember something I learned while serving as a state lobbyist.

“When you have made a sale, shut up.”