Smart Brevity

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Smart Brevity is a way to create, share, and consume information and a formula for communication effectiveness.

The Formula

  • The Headline.
    • Write the reason why you're even bothering to write. 
      • Express your main idea in a provocative yet accurate way. 
      • Use short, strong words that zing, and sprinkle with active verbs.
      • In 6 words, tops, get right to the point.
    • Read your headline out loud. 
      • Confirming it sounds like something you want or needs to know more about. 
      • If it doesn't reach this standard, try again
  • State One Big Thing.
    • State your most important point in ONE sentence.
      • Imagine you're speaking with someone you really like. 
      • Tell them what happened or the idea that has just come to you.
    • Try:
      • Boil down your most important point into one statement.
      • Skip the anecdotes, adverbs, weak words, or extraneous words. 
      • Be direct, succinct, and transparent. 
    • Ask: 
      • If this is the ONLY thing they remember, is it exactly what you want to stick to? 
      • If you answer NO, rework it and try again.
  • Explain Why It Matters.
    • Put your ideas into a digestible context.
      • WHY IT MATTERS
      • THE BIG PICTURE
      • WHAT'S NEXT
      • WHAT WE'RE WATCHING
      • BETWEEN THE LINES
      • THE BACKSTORY
      • CATCH UP QUICK
      • ZOOM IN
      • ZOOM OUT
    • Always bold WHY IT MATTERS or other axioms. 
    • After you state WHY IT MATTERS.
      • Explain in one sentence why the information in your first sentence is essential.
      • Whether something will change, a new trend, or relevance to something else, is building.
    • Make your sentence direct and declarative, adding to your opening thought.
  • Options to Go Deeper.
    • Ending with "Go Deeper/The big picture/Learn more" to deliver depth and detail.
      • Give the reader the option to GO DEEPER if they want to.
    • Use lots of bullets to break up clumps of text.
      • Use bullets to explain three or more ideas or data points.
    • Bold your axioms.
      • Make each paragraph no longer than two or three sentences, and add bullets, charts, and axioms to break up the flow.
    • Know when to stop.
      • State your facts, and stop blathering on

Tips and Hints

  • Use the right words.
    • Use strong words.
      • Words that are vivid, precise, and easy to visualize.
    • Purge weak words.
      • Words that tend to be multi-syllable.
      • Don't use "vicissitude", use "change".
      • Replace "ubiquitous" with "everywhere".
    • Avoid foggy words.
      • Words that express uncertainty 
      • Don't use could, may, might, etc. 
      • Instead, use what "is" happening. Be definitive.
    • Embrace short, crisp, and punchy phrases
      • "Revenue boomed", "Cubs lost" or "I quit".
    • Use active verbs.
      • To inject action and movement into your writing. 
      • Replace "The situation in Afghanistan continues to deteriorate from a security perspective" with active alternatives: "The Taliban have retaken Afghanistan."
  • Use emojis.
    • They help instantly signal the tone or topic of an item, saving you and the reader time by getting them in the right headspace.

When and Where Use Smart Brevity.

  • Newsletters.
  • Workplace:
    • Write all your messages, emails, memos, and updates using Smart Brevity.
    • Encourage everyone who reports to you to do the same.
    • Internal presentations and PowerPoint
      • Start with a slide articulating your ONE big idea.
        • Make one point on each subsequent slide. 
      • Use clean and simple graphics.
      • Boil everything down to single sentences, 20 words or less. 
      • And limit your entire presentation to 5 or 6 slides max. 
      • End where you began, with ONE big idea.
    • Always communicate inclusively
      • Write in plain language, and use bullet points to break up the text.
      • Keep it simple.
  • Emails:
    • Start every email with a short, direct, and urgent subject line.
      • Tell people why they need to open this email NOW.
    • Put your ask or your key piece of information in the first sentence – ALWAYS. 
      • Make people feel like they have to read on.
    • Always add some context – include "Why it matters".
      • Use a consistent style that becomes a replicable framework. 
    • Add bullets – make it easy for people to skim your email. 
    • Bold keywords and figures – anything you want to stand out to the reader.
    • Include some clean and intuitive visuals.
      • To help amplify or give life to important points.
  • Meetings:
    • Decide whether you genuinely need to meet.
      • Or whether everything could be better handled as a one-on-one chat.
    • Set a time limit whenever you organize a meeting.
      • 20 minutes is usually sufficient. 
      • Test whether 5 - 10 minute micro-meetings will work as well.
    • Open the meeting with a headline 
      • The one-sentence objective was circulated in advance.
    • Explain "why it matters".
      • Let everyone know why they are in the room, and what they contribute.
    • State clearly and concisely what specific decisions need to be made.
      • Everyone is focused on making those decisions and ending the meeting.
    • Have a quick and inclusive discussion.
      • If someone goes off-topic, point that out with a smile.
    • When 2 minutes are left, bring the discussion to an end:
      • Summarizing the meeting takeaways.
      • Getting specific about the next steps.
    • End on time.
      • Send out a follow-up email.
      • Bullet points detailing who will be responsible for each follow-up action.
  • Speeches.
    • Prepare to speak.
      • Forget about PowerPoint, notes, and teleprompters.
      • Get people to focus on you.
    • Aim to get the audience to remember ONE point or lesson.
      • In 15 words or less. 
      • If you don't know what this is, your audience certainly won't.
    • Hit your audience with your point.
      • Directly stating, "The one thing I want you to remember from my speech is ..." 
      • State it cleanly and directly.
    • Always explain "Why it matters" to your audience
      • Provide context on why they should pay attention to what you're saying.
    • Bring your big thought to life.
      • Using interesting stats, great stories, and memorable quotes. 
      • It pays to number your points so you have verbal bullet points in your speech.
    • Reinforce your big thought at the end.
      • Directly stating, "Remember, if there is one thing you take away ..."
      • Then say thank you, and end graciously.
  • Social Media.
  • Visuals / Infographics.
    • Start with a strong concept
      • This will usually be something uncluttered.
    • Edit out superfluous elements.
      • You're left with something worth seeing and noticing.
    • Be direct.
      • Always look at it from the perspective of the person you're trying to reach. 
      • Judge your work solely from their perspective.
    • Create a visual hierarchy.
      • Make your most important visual clue something which will catch the eye of the reader. 
      • You then offer visual context in color, depth, or visual setting.
    • Always respect your audience.
    • Avoid abstraction, clutter, and confusion.

References

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