Monday, 31 March 2014

Brevity Is The Soul of Wit

A witty remark need not be an elaborate one. It can be brief and at the same time striking. The most humorous flashes of wit are often the shortest. Just like wit, the ability to express ideas in the briefest manner requires much intelligence. A person can go on speaking or writing without anything meaningful in it. There is no point at all in doing so. What he should do is to condense it to a short but meaningful sentence such a sentence can be highly striking. It enters the hearts of the people. It creates the intended effect by remaining in their memory. Such a sentence is lasting and has a great effect upon the listeners. Thus a talented person selects the right words so that the idea is clearly understood by all. It is like a pond that is crystal-clear. We can see what is at the bottom. A long speech or statement will quickly bore the listener or the reader. His mind shuts itself out. This makes the speech or statement useless for its purpose. Therefore, if we want to express our ideas clearly, we must learn to put them in the briefest and aptest way.

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