[HOW-TO]
CHAPTER 14
Stylistic elements
“How do you tell stories? With passion.”
—DAVID ARMSTRONG, Managing by Storying Around
NOTHING WILL MAKE an audience of businesspeople roll their eyes and disengage faster than overly descriptive language typical of a nineteenth-century romance novel: “It was August in Dubai, and the sweltering mid-day heat dripped off the rooftops like hot wax down a candle. The air was oppressive and almost as thick as the despair of the local people. . . .”
The same prose they might be eager to read at 9 P.M. while curled up in their favorite reading chair will not be welcomed at 9 A.M. in a conference room, or when reading an e-mail or a memo. “Oh, puh-lease! Just get to the point!” they’ll think, or maybe even say. ...
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