Cropping the Photograph– a Guide for Communicators

Any digital photographer knows that the quickest and easiest way to transform a so-so picture into a work of art is to crop out all the distracting and irrelevant stuff around the edges, and get the subject into a more pleasing position within the frame. Once you crop out the dirty teacups, mangled leftovers, and the close-up details of Uncle Bertram’s ear, you’re left with an endearing shot of Granny.

Donald Trump and Sean Spicer understood this simple principal when they demanded of the National Park Service that all the empty pavement in the pictures of the inaugural crowd be cropped out. By doing so, evidence of an iffy turnout was transformed into evidence of “the biggest crowd ever”.

The Soviets perfected the technique back in Politburo days, way before digital, by using darkroom techniques to remove and/or replace key figures on the dias. Thus, if a party boss had been taken out and shot between the time of the picture and the time of publication, the embarrassing detail of his existence was also eliminated. Tidy, that.

So, whether the purpose is nefarious or benign, manipulating a photograph is a tried and true way of improving your pictorial story. And linguistic communication is no different.

Whether it be a speech to the annual convention, a business letter, or a simple e-mail, a “focus on focus” and a weight-loss regimen are just as good for communication as they are for you or me. Well, at least for me, anyway.

Try these two simple tricks for a week: First, before you begin, write out your main point in just a few words. When you finish, check back to see if you’ve focused on your point, and then identify and remove extraneous or distracting material.

Second, in addition to your usual rigorous proof-reading, perform a word count (https://www.google.ca/search?q=how+to+do+a+word+count+in+microsoft+word&rlz=1C1CHBF_enCA752CA752&oq=how+to+do+a+word+count&aqs=chrome.2.69i57j0l5.9589j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8) and then set about cutting weight by ten percent. Seriously– try it!

These two simple tricks invariably produce documents that are clearer, more readable and more impactful. Your readers, or listeners, will be grateful and far more receptive.