Tighten It Up

President Craig calls them 3 Minute Lessons. Elder Zwick calls it, "Simplify and Intensify." President Barry called them, "Short, Powerful Lessons." I prefer KISS, or, "Keep It Simple, Silly." Our leaders keep reiterating it, each with a new name and the same concept. Short and simple lessons are the most effective.

President John Taylor said, "It is true intelligence for a man to take a subject that is mysterious and great in itself, and to unfold and simplify it so that a child can understand it." Preach My Gospel, pg. 182 B.H. Roberts wrote, "To be known, the truth must be stated and the clearer and more complete the statement is, the better the opportunity will the Holy Spirit have for testifying to the souls of men that the work is true." New Witnesses for God, 3 vols. (1909), 2:vii

I use a few tricks to cut down on the length of my posts.

1. Leave out unimportant details from personal stories. This includes tangents. Often times, it sounds better if we don't add a lot of fluff.
2. Rearrange words in a long sentence. Sometimes that can cut out the clutter.
3. Try not using to be verbs. Such as: am, are, is, be, been, were. We depend a lot on these words, but we can do without them.
4. Sometimes we explain something one time, and then to emphasize the point, we say it again, but in a different way. Take those sentences out and just say it right the first time.
5. Let scriptures and quotes do their own talking.

What tips do you have?