One of the most memorable things I saw at Pearl Harbor was the annotated speech President Roosevelt gave to Congress. Today, most people know the line “a day that will live in infamy” but those words did not appear in the original draft. Initially, it read: “Yesterday, December 7, 1941, a date that will live in world history, the United States of America was simultaneously and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.” It was wisely edited, with world history replaced by infamy and simultaneously replaced by suddenly. The speech itself became one that will live in infamy.
Think of what was happening when this address was written. There wasn’t an earlier draft on the shelf; there were no computers to make easy revisions, and the central government had to be in chaos trying to learn about the damage 5000 miles away. Yet, people took the time to ponder over word choices and make deliberate changes to maximize the impact of the communication.
You would be well served to follow Roosevelt’s example and take care with your messaging, especially when things around you are swirling. The less clear the situation, the more clear your communication needs to be.
