the 5-word speech

I was given a difficult task by the good people at the Webbys.?

To create a 5-word speech.?

The Webbys is famous for these speeches. Each year, Webby winners give their “thank you” speech but... it can only be five words long.?

Internet pioneer Vint Cerf said: “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet”

Prince said: “Everything You Think Is True”?

Miley Cyrus said: “Stay Lit in Dark Times”

Anyway?- it is way harder than it looks.?

~

Short writing is hard writing. (hey maybe that’s my speech!)

Neil Gaiman said that instead of getting paid to write words, imagine you have to pay per word you write.

I quite like that approach.?

Shakespeare wrote:

"Brevity is the soul of wit."?(not for his Webby speech, that is six words)

Mark Twain (or was it Blaise Pascal??) said:?

“I didn't have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.”

Hemingway tried to write the saddest story in only 6 words:

"For sale, baby shoes. Never worn."? (relax people it was just a huge baby!)?

You get the idea. Writing shorter is freaking hard.?

You agonize over each word.?

Are they the right ones?

Are they in the right order?

How many colons, commas, and semi-colons should I use??

~?

So I have been working on my Five-Word Speech for the last few days.

Should it be meaningful? Funny? Forward-looking? Inspirational??

There is only one rule: Only 5 words.??

I have written down 36 different 5-word speech ideas already.?

I don’t know what I will choose.??

But I keep writing them, hoping one will stick.??

(side note if you have any ideas for what I should say please let me know!!)

Try writing your own 5-word speech.?

It’s fun!?

And I think it makes you a better writer.?

-Ian

P.s. we make cool shows for B2B companies (like the Webby-winning Murder in HR). If you want to learn more check out Caspian Studios.?