Top Highlights

• Pith Method ... When you want to come up with something memorable—not just original phrasing but an original thought—sometimes you should start with the words. Words first, then thought. ... Instead of working out your thoughts in your head or scribbling them down, start instead with a key line. Write it down and then, before you write any other li...
• THE TOOLS ... Unwriting. Take a quotation you love, and rewrite it in the plainest possible language. Then compare this simple version with the original. What’s the key difference that makes the quote work so well? If you look carefully, you should see the SPA within most memorable expressions: a sound, a picture, or an association. While sounds an...
• To create memorable words yourself, you simply need to discover a set of techniques—forty-three in all—that have been used by masters from Winston Churchill to Jimmy Kimmel.
• This chapter will show you how to produce a pith from a jumble of thoughts. We will look at ways to produce memorable lines that help fuel the rest of your thinking.
• Focus on a few words or so, and you focus your thoughts as well. When you prepare to argue with someone, or present a proposal, or give a talk, this kind of focus helps frame your point.