Hide the Mechanics

I still remember the day that Mr. Rogers broke my heart. I believed in the magic trolley. I really believed. And then one day, he showed us that it wasn't magic and it didn't just show up because it wanted to show up. It was a switch, and he moved the lever.

Ever since that fateful day, I've had an aversion to mechanics. I don't want to know how stuff works, I just want it to work. Like magic.

That's how I like messages to be. I don't need to know that a speaker is about to give an illustration by hearing him say, "Here's an illustration about why we should take good care of our finances." Just tell me the story and tie the point in and I'll move along with you. I'm good with the message reaching it's conclusion without being told, "And now, in conclusion." This is one of the reasons I'm not always a big fan of the list-of-points message, because it almost forces the speaker to teach in a mechanical "and now, point number 2" kind of way. I think points are good for take-home value, but - just like a zipper in a good dress - care must be taken when crafting the message to hide them into the structure without showing them off to the whole world.

Finally, here's the mechanic I especially don't want to hear about: time. This is also the one that I violate the most. I've often been guilty of looking worriedly at the clock and saying, "Oh man, I gotta hurry or we'll be here til Tuesday." But I'm really trying not to and I deputize anyone who hears me do it to smack me with a trolley.

Mechanics are necessary, but everyone doesn't need to see them. Sometimes, it's just nice to let the message be magic.

What do you think? Are there things you've heard speakers say that you wish they would have kept under wraps? Or does it keep it more real for you when they tell you where they're headed and what they're thinking as they go there?