Start with a Pen
“The Pen is mightier than the ‘board’.”
—Anonymous
You’ve got a big idea! So you get right on your smartphone and start putting concepts down on the screen… Then, when you get a moment, you get in front of a keyboard and start clacking.
And… It… Comes… To. A. Stop.
Why? Have the brain cells frozen? Or has the flow of ideas just been cut off?
Well, no. It’s just that a keyboard is built to facilitate the free flow of “text” (once it has been conceptualized) and conceptualization, which deals in “ideas,” is not a free flowing, linear process — it comes in fits and starts.
Conceptualization, (getting the component ideas in hand) and Composition (putting the particular words into specific sequence) are two different disciplines, and require different tools.
Conceptualization is a “throw a wide net” kind of process. A big sheet of paper, different colored pens, erasers, pictures, sketches — are all familiar tools which are often employed before the real end result has taken shape. Why can’t you do this on a keyboard? Well, you can if you force it. But a pen can travel an entire table top of brown paper with ideas as broad as imaginable. While a keyboard wants to render everything into a narrow string. Better stick to the pen as yet. By simply opening the door to all these, the speaker has nudged the process into gear. So, begins “Ready, Set, Go!®”
We tackle the “Next Step,” which is usually just out of, but almost within reach. As you get that down on a “Ready, Set, Go!” format pad, the mind begins to focus and the rest of the presentation or document begins to present itself in pieces for informal notation. Maybe the agenda allows a little of itself to be seen. Maybe a quote peeks out at you. Then you get back on track and you get a hint of the Main Idea and then start refining the Agenda.
You remember a piece of literature and a scene from a movie as you continue working, and those duly find their way to the margin of the pad. But you stick to it and soon you’re looking at a pretty complete diagram — but for that pesky opening (which has already presented itself in four different guises — a quote, a story, a joke and a picture). You’ll work that out in rehearsal!
But now, it’s time for the Keyboard. You’ve got it conceptualized and the flow is there. Now you have to compose the specific words, phrases, sentences and stylized timing that will make it yours! Keyboards are built for this!
Now, let’s handle all the discussion…
Yes. It’s all called a “Composition Discipline.” When we built that first seminar, we lumped the various skills and tools together under that handy heading. And, in a larger sense, it still works. But we keep getting requests from people on computers, who insist on using the keyboard exclusively. (Also asking for ever smaller fonts. :-))
But we honestly see a very real and important distinction between the skills, tools and mental processes involved that make the distinction between Conceptualization (with a Pen) and Composition (with a Keyboard) worth respecting.
If you strip your mental gears trying to shift back and forth between pen and keyboard — Relax! You’re not alone. They are two wildly different skills, but they can be brought into productive coexistence if you make sure you have the right tools close at hand.
Want to be a Master of Communication? Recognize that it is a multi-faceted process and requires skilled application of Words, Pictures, Feelings and Processes — and you can’t get anywhere without all the tools at hand. In this case, the pen is mightier than the ‘board.’
Applications
1. For You
Have you experienced “Brain Freeze” when composing? Again, you’re not alone. Lots of things can benefit from a little diagnostic exam. Maybe you’re a little Dyslexic, a touch Autistic, a bushel full of ADD or just a Visual or Kinesthetic communicator. What we know is everyone concentrates differently. Not everybody likes words, sentences and paragraphs quite so much. So give yourself a little extra room to do the conceptual exploration required to discover and clarify your objective, your reasoning and the optimum means of expression for this audience on this day. (Your compass, as ever, is the direct path from where you are, to the Desired Listener Response.)
But why not consider “Going Back to Go Forward?” Find yourself some construction paper, a flip chart, or raid Levenger® for an extra-large composition pad… The Right Tool can be a big help. You’re obviously going to end up on a keyboard… but you don’t always have to begin there…
2. For the Family
Dad has a Speech in the office. Ellen has a high school Presentation. Little David has an Essay. Mom has a Political Speech at the Libertarian Club. In the average family, everyone has a different mindset toward words, pictures, stories, feelings, props, text, pens and keyboards. (And they don’t help you so much in discovering your own conceptual preferences in school.)
Invest in a roll of kraft paper and some fiber tip pens. Next Conceptual Assignment, start with some scribbles, some pictures, some movie references, and a book or two. Yeah, that’s Idea Soup! But if you begin all of it by focusing on the Desired Listener Response, you’ll still get the benefit of a Wide Net, while at the same time, keeping a hard eye on the next step.
3. For the Office
There’s usually a flip chart in the closet. (It may require a little Archeology to unearth.) As you sit down to conceive of your presentation, use your chart or your white board to gather thoughts (not randomly, but for a very specific outcome). If you’ve come to a stop with your keyboard, expanding your purview a little is a great way to get the gears turning again. Once the corpus begins to reveal itself, through “Ready, Set, Go!” — it’s time to go to the keyboard and compose the clean copy and/or the script.
We live in a world so dominated by text and its tools that more creative means of expression and their tools are being lost.
Have you had that moment where everything freezes and the keys just won’t keep clacking? Abandon the keyboard; pick up a pen and let the ideas flow!
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