Hello everyone!

Thank you for taking the plunge and joining me on this newsletter journey. As I indicated in the initial pitch, I intend for this to be a place to examine the power of ideas, and extent to which our modern landscape has provided new ways in which they can be shared.

I’ve chosen the title “Concrete Communication” which is a reference to Chip & Dan Heath’s book Made to Stick. It’s a transformative read that explores the qualities of a well-communicated idea. They provide six principles that an excellent communicator must utilize in their quest to defeat the great villain of communication: The curse of knowledge (more on that another day).

One of these principles is being concrete—or ensuring that the way you communicate your idea is specific and memorable.

Take for example, a timeless principle like “The grass is always greener on the other side.” This phrase has cultural staying power because it provides a mental image that illustrates its point far better than an abstract “Be happy with what you have because its easy to want what others have when you don’t have it.”

As our society grows bigger and more connected, each idea faces more and stiffer competition to stand out. In a media environment where lazy TikTok reaction videos and ironic memes are a dime-a-dozen, our defining challenge is going to be learning to share good and meaningful ideas in a concise, yet compelling way.

My goal is to provide a monthly digest on topics that have to do with communication and I aim to provide a synthesis of timeless principles with new methods on subjects like:

• Content Creation

• Public Speaking

• Media Consumption

• Technology Habits

• Leadership

• Productivity

For today, let’s talk about…

The Implications of AI-generated Content

I’m sure most of you are already sick of hearing about AI since it’s been the talk of the internet for months.

However, the aspect of this that I think gets left out is the specific danger of AI being incorporated into platforms like TikTok that already utilize the most addictive algorithms known to mankind.

Imagine a personalized TikTok feed that automatically suggests content it knows you will like, but the content is artificially generated just for you based on your search history and known preferences!

If you want to see this idea unpacked further, check out the full video below (and subscribe to my new channel while you’re at it!)

Takeaway: AI-generated content is a potential threat to purposeful communication. The task of 21st century communicators is going to be setting yourself apart from the computer-generated glut of cheap soulless content through succinctness and transparency.

and…

Our Culture’s Preoccupation with Busyness

It’s quite telling that the automatic response we frequently give to someone who asks “How are you?” is “Ohh you know, busy!”

The first problem is that, whatever we might intend with this response, the net effect is that it puts up a wall between us and the other person—implying that our time is valuable and that we might be more important than they are because we’re busier.

The second problem, is that we’re often being somewhat truthful. Most of us exist in a state of time poverty where we are doing far too many things with our lives and doing most of them badly. More than 20 years ago, the sociologist Jonathan Gershuny remarked that “Work, not leisure, is now the signifier of dominant social status.” Today, with work emails, Twitter, and Slack channels all in the palm of our hands, that problem has only gotten worse.

When it comes down to it, most of us don't actually like the stress and the hurry and the scatteredness that comes with being busy, but we DO like being able to tell other people that we are—and then one-up them with our own busyness.

Both the way that we structure our lives and the way we describe it might be worth contemplating!

Takeaway: We overvalue the state of appearing busy. John Mark Comer’s The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry has some practical advice for re-orienting our approach daily activities and he encourages us that it is possible to avoid rushed, hurried mentalities even when we have full schedules.

Personal Pitch:

If you’ve made it this far, I hope that you found this content insightful or valuable. My goal is to share ideas that are contagious—that you would want to pass on to others. If you found this the case, I’d love if you would share this email with your friends/family or social media following. If not, or if you have ideas about things I could add or adjust, I’d love to know how I can improve so let me know!

If someone forwarded this email, you can subscribe for free right here.

In general, I’m aiming for this to be a monthly publication, but to get started I will aim to do my second edition two weeks from today.

Thanks for reading!

Brent