Think in ink

The Economist regrets the decline of speeches and debate in the UK Parliament. In 1938 the average speech was 1,000 words long. Up until 1970 it was almost 900 words. But then the length started to decline, accelerating in 2015 when Titter/X added video. In 2024, the average length was just 460 words.

Does  this matter?

“Political speeches are, says Michael Gove, a former Conservative minister, more than mere messaging. ‘Think in ink’ was, he says, a phrase he lived by when in government. Write a speech down and ‘it has to be logical.'”

The process of putting your thoughts on paper, in the logical structure of a speech (or an article, strategy paper or business plan) , forces clarity in your thinking. The bumpy inconsistencies and issues that your mind’s happy to glide over become starkly apparent on paper. Write it down. Think in ink!

(Interestingly, the phrase seems to originate in a poem by Marilyn Monroe.)

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash