MAKE YOUR MESSAGE REPEATABLE, NO MATTER THE LANGUAGE

A couple of months ago, SJConnects celebrated 10 years of communications counseling and coaching. And at that celebration, I reiterated my prime message: Think strategically daily about your communications to move your business forward. Now, if you’ve worked with us before, you will note that sentence is 11 words long.

 And that is not by accident. 

 In 2026, I am “celebrating” 10 years of counting the words in the most effective messaging. We always counsel, “The most effective messages are declarative, clear and concise.” They need to have perspective, be easily understood, and repeatable.

 In 10 years of counting, our science still comes up that the perfect message is 11 words long – in English.

 First, ours is a soft science. You can make that message eight words or 14. The key is that – since it is the most important sentence you’re delivering – it needs to be repeatable. A 30-word sentence is not easily repeatable, and it certainly isn’t memorable.

 Example: this message from Jacqueline Novogratz of global non-profit Acumen:

 "The only way to end poverty and make it history is to build viable systems on the ground that deliver critical and affordable goods and services to the poor in ways that are financially sustainable and scalable." (37 words.)

 Better:

 "To end poverty, we need viable, sustainable and scalable systems on the ground." (13 words.)

 Recently, I was challenged by a German. “Is 11 words the target for any language?”

 No. It is not. Regardless of the current culture-war winds, let’s try and be sensitive to the fact there is an entire world out there that is not English-centric.

 ·       “Think strategically daily about your communications to move your business forward.”

o   “Denken Sie täglich strategisch über Ihre Kommunikation nach, um Ihr Unternehmen voranzubringen.” (German)

o   “Pensa strategicamente ogni giorno alle tue comunicazioni per far progredire la tua attività.” (Italian)

o   “Měitiān cóng zhànlüè jiǎodù sīkǎo nǐ de gōutōng fāngshì, yǐ tuīdòng yèwù xiàng qián fāzhǎn.” (simplified Chinese)

 ·       “The most effective messages are declarative, clear and concise.”

o   “Die effektivsten Botschaften sind aussagend, klar und prägnant.” (GERMAN)

o   “I messaggi più efficaci sono dichiarativi, chiari e concisi.” (Italian)

o   “Zuì yǒuxiào de chuándá wǎngwǎng shì chénshù xìng de, qīngxī qiě jiǎnliàn de.” (simplified Chinese)

 I know Italian, and I know this works. I’m not familiar with German nor Chinese, but I’d like to think these also are repeatable. That is the point. And it takes time to get there.

 Try it out. Try fabricating the takeaway, the headline, the most important point of your communication opportunity in a way that you can repeat it.

 It will make your message more memorable, no matter the language.