Good things, when short, are twice as good
I spent last weekend having my brain re-wired. Since March, I’ve been enrolled in the Institute of Communications Agencies‘ Executive CAAP West Program. It’s for people who want to pursue or continue careers in communications and advertising, and so far it’s been a wild and rewarding ride.
This past weekend, we finished the first of two terms — ending with a session on brainstorming, ideation, and big ideas. The whole weekend was facilitated by Leslie Ehm. Leslie’s worked in the ad industry as a copywriter and creative director. Now, she works with organizations to teach them some of the things she showed us tonight, and presentation skills on top of that.
One of the key takeaways from this weekend — and every weekend of CAAP thus far — has been about communicating ideas simply. To illuminate the power of simplicity and the economy of words, Leslie had us run through an exercise where we had to write our 6-word memoir. It’s something that Ernest Hemingway first did, with these words:
For Sale: baby shoes, never worn.
SMITH Magazine has a website dedicated to these memoirs, and several books of 6-word memoirs have been published.
We did the same thing in class last weekend. Each of us had to write a 6-word memoir — exactly 6 words. This was mine:
Get out of my own way.
Brevity and word selection is everything. “Get” instead of “Got” or “Getting.”
I know posting about this is about the least original thing on earth, since SMITH’s been at it for awhile now. But I wanted to see what Unknown Studio listeners and readers would come up with.
So that’s my challenge to you: share your 6-word memoir in the comments section. Let’s see how creative everyone can be!
Photo by higginskurt on Flickr. Used under Creative Commons License.
We play this game just once.
GO! GO! GO! Pause. Breathe. REPEAT!
Live well, laugh well, love well.
I had a couple of these come through on Twitter and I wanted to capture them:
@livelikeburning said: “Our life is a consuming fire”
@pcrtomgillespie said: “Well, so far, so..oh crap!!!”
Keep ‘em coming!
He died as he lived: yiffing.
I’m assuming this is about you, James, even though it speaks in the third person.
Two more from Tweeters:
@BeckaSwan: “I can’t believe I did that.”
@PiggtailGirl: “I hate all of you people.”
I actually did this on Six Words. It hasn’t changed.
“Living the dream, please send money.”
Things I Found in my Beard.
Bear with it, it’s worth it.
Making mistakes, correcting, smiling, moving on.
So… What’s next?
Party foul, Ryan! You need to use exactly six words (although I didn’t indicate that in the challenge line, I do mention it some way up the post).
Try using all six!
happiness is the absence of wit
See things in a positive light.
Cynicism is the death of activism.
My mistakes, my triumphs, my life!
Relax. There is still time left.
Try hard. Good enough? Not yet.
Sought wisdom, distracted by clever things.
Just because I want to keep them all in one place, here are a bunch from pals on Facebook:
Natasha C: “Two little lives, changed one, forevermore.”
Chris B: “Finished the race on his terms.” AND “Wanted to be Immortal, Died Trying.”
Joel C: “Grew a moustache, never looked back.”
Roman K: “Did enough for four, hit bar.”
Kyle J: “Constantly shaving, but never the head.”
Matt S: “Accomplished living ’til moment of death.”
Karyn H: “Pleased to please and be pleased.”
Loved many times and found one.
El Caballero de la Noche Asciende!
Don’t go anywhere – there’s still pie!
“Would rather be entertained than loved.”
Relax, I plan on living forever.
“With The First Pick, Edmonton Selects…”
Quiet please, I’m not finished yet.
Making every mistake possible before succeeding
Large dyke falls down, goes boom.
She really did not like bugs
Still trying to figure it out.
There’s so much still to see!
Common ground is my happy place.
Had to comment on how gorgeous these all are. Isn’t it amazing what can happen when we sift thru the bullshit in order to identify what really resonates as our story? Freakin’ poetry!! Remember this when you’re next trying to communicate something big, loud or important.
For the record – mine currently is “People – this is not a rehearsal!”
Dreams in dying go to heaven
Every clawed has a froideur lining