If you have an important point to make, don't try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time - a tremendous whack.

The line advocates forceful clarity in persuasion: when the stakes are serious, ornament and insinuation are less effective than direct emphasis. The “pile driver” metaphor frames argument as controlled impact—choose one central claim, state it plainly, and reinforce it through repetition. The advice also implies a theory of audience attention: people remember what is stressed, not what is merely hinted. In rhetorical terms, it favors amplification and strategic repetition over wit or subtlety, suggesting that conviction is often produced by insistence and structure rather than by cleverness.