I once hired a very qualified young man. I expected him to be great. But boy, was I ever wrong. This guy took so long to explain everything that I began to dread talking with him. He was just too slow. Yes, he was thorough and painstaking, but he couldn't keep pace. He wasted too much time.

Business is no place for stream-of-consciousness babbling, no matter how colorfully you think you speak. Whatever you do, keep it short, fast, and right to the point.

Being concise is polite. It shows that you respect other people's time. When most folks have to listen to endless discourses, they squirm, their minds wander, or they frequently don't listen. Instead of making their points, long-winded talkers turn off their audiences.

Before I went into partnership with the Brazilian entrepreneur Ricardo Bellino in Trump Realty Brazil, which will be the largest golf and residential complex in Latin America, I gave him only three minutes to explain his idea. I was extremely busy and not eager to listen to a presentation.

I expected him to decline. But not only did Ricardo accept my terms, he made such a great presentation in the allotted time that I was fascinated with the deal. Now we're partners. It's amazing what people can do when they have deadlines.

So, give yourself deadlines. Practice delivering your presentation in less than five minutes, and then chop it to three minutes. Anything longer can seem like a lecture. Edit yourself by cutting everything that isn't absolutely necessary. The people you speak to will be grateful that you distilled your pitch to its essence. If they have questions, they'll ask, which is what you want.

Extraneous information in long-winded presentations is like junk mail. Everyone hates junk mail, especially busy people. No one wants to sort through irrelevant stuff.

So instead of delivering verbal junk, limit your pitch to only necessary information.

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