“Ideas are not really alive if they are confined only to a person’s mind.”—Nancy Duarte

One of the most beautiful parts of writing (or of speaking) is what I call idea flow. That is, writing is a pipeline that allows ideas to flow from one mind to another. (Stephen King says that writing is actually mental telepathy.)

Granted, there are often problems with our attempts at creating idea pipelines.

Kinks or clogs in the pipeline can impede the flow (as can filters on the receiving end).

A pipeline that turns this way and that will slow down the idea stream to a trickle, leaving the receiver thirsty for more clarity than you’re providing.

If information comes too fast, the receiver will have a hard time processing it (hence the “drinking from a firehose” metaphor).

Think of yourself as an idea flow specialist. Always be looking for ways to transmit your ideas from your mind to your readers’ as smoothly and effectively as possible.