Millions or Billions
On TV in the UK a few weeks ago I happened to catch an economist trying to explain our national debt using a pile of 157 pennies on the table, standing for the £157 Billion pounds we all owe.
But it wasn’t the visual part that impressed me.
It was the conversation about how most of us don’t really know the difference between a million and a billion pounds.
It’s just a few more noughts isn’t it?
Well this chap used a great verbal example to explain the difference and it went like this. If we converted these pennies on the table to time and each penny became a second, 157 Million would last 13 hours. However, if it was 157 Billion seconds it would last …33 Years!
Simple, powerful and effective.
And here’s a thought – at one stage Bill Gates had over £100 Billion! Will you convey your next complicated message with such simplicity?
