Second Paragraphs

Second paragraphs are tough. Take no prisoners kind of tough. Here is an example. A person looks at a headline regarding the provocative behavior of North Korea and says something to the effect, "That country's leaders are terrible. They need to be stopped."  To the unbiased observer, such a strong comment could be viewed as a "good opener," more to the point of this entry: a good first paragraph. Such a forceful comment certainly captures the attention of those on the receiving end of it. The listener leans toward the sender of that statement with rising expectations that a notable opener will be followed by am equally notable second paragraph.

More often than we care to admit, however, the listener is doomed to be disappointed. In conversations, many of us have great "openers." But what we follow with is often a reiteration of what we just said in our "first paragraph." Going back to the North Korea example, "Yeah, the people should rise up and throw those guys out." Or "We need to send over our best jets and blow them out of the water."  That is fine. But how are such comments different from what was just said? Obviously, they are not.

Second paragraphs are designed to advance a conversation. Consequently, they require thought that enables one to support, justify and/or defend their first paragraph. Without that vital second paragraph, the first paragraph loses much of its power. It becomes an empty opinion - something everyone has. A good second paragraph helps create memorable acts of communication rather than ones that are fleeting and disposable. While these thoughts are my mine, I want to give credit to Pulitzer-Prize winning columnist Thomas Friedman of The New York Times for inspiring them. One of his recent columns touched on the ongoing challenge of second paragraphs. While he mentioned them in relation to President Trump, I believe such observation relates to all of us.