Smart Brevity

Picture this: you're drowning in a sea of emails, Slack messages, and endless documents that seem to say everything except what actually matters. You spend hours crafting the perfect memo, only to watch colleagues' eyes glaze over during your presentation. Sound familiar? You're not alone in this modern communication crisis.

We live in an age where we're bombarded with more words than ever before, yet somehow we're communicating less effectively. The average person checks their phone 344 times a day and spends just 26 seconds reading any piece of content. Meanwhile, roughly one-third of work emails that require attention go completely unread. This isn't just inefficiency—it's a communication emergency that's paralyzing workplaces and relationships everywhere. The solution isn't learning to say more; it's mastering the art of saying exactly what matters, exactly when it matters, in exactly the way your audience needs to hear it.

In our hyperconnected world, we're drowning in what experts call "the fog of words." Every day brings an avalanche of information competing for our attention, yet most of it fails to make any lasting impact. The problem isn't that we don't have enough to say—it's that we've forgotten how to say what truly matters.

Consider the story of David Rogers, a legendary Wall Street Journal reporter who became the unlikely father of a communication revolution. When a young journalist brought him a beautiful, meandering 1,200-word piece, Rogers didn't mince words: "It's a pile of shit." But instead of just criticizing, he took out a pencil and completely restructured the piece. He crafted a short, direct opening sentence, eliminated superfluous words, and demanded a must-read fact followed by clear context. This wasn't about dumbing down the content—it was about respecting the reader's time and intelligence.

The transformation was remarkable. By stripping away the unnecessary and focusing on what truly mattered, the story didn't lose depth—it gained power. This approach challenges the conventional wisdom that more words equal more importance. Instead, it reveals a fundamental truth: brevity is confidence, length is fear. When we hide behind excessive words, we're often masking our own uncertainty about what we're really trying to say.

The path forward requires a complete mindset shift. Start by accepting that most people will scan or skip most of what you communicate, then make every word count. Think of your audience first—not what you want to say, but what they need to hear. This isn't about oversimplifying; it's about crystallizing your thoughts into their most powerful form.

Remember, the goal isn't to write less for the sake of writing less. It's about sharing more value in less time, cutting through the noise, and finally being heard in a world that's forgotten how to listen.

At its heart, Smart Brevity is a systematic approach to communication built on four fundamental pillars that transform how your message lands with any audience. Think of it as a blueprint that guides you away from your worst communication instincts and toward clarity that cuts through chaos.

The framework begins with a muscular tease—six or fewer strong words that grab attention away from the thousand other distractions vying for your audience's focus. This isn't about being clever or cryptic; it's about being irresistibly clear. Next comes one strong first sentence that delivers something your audience doesn't know, should know, or would want to know. This opening line carries the full weight of your message—it's your one shot to prove you're worth their time.

The magic happens in the third element: context, specifically "Why it matters." This is where you address the universal human need to understand significance. Most of us are faking our way through complex topics, too proud to admit we need help connecting the dots. By explicitly explaining why your information matters, you become invaluable to your audience. Finally, give people the choice to "Go deeper"—don't force more information on them, but make it easily available for those who want it.

Consider how this played out at the CIA, where analysts were burying crucial intelligence in hazes of unnecessary words. When they needed to warn about Afghanistan's deteriorating situation, the traditional approach produced paragraphs of hedged language and bureaucratic speak. The Smart Brevity version cut straight to the essence: "Taliban militants have been quiet, but our Kabul sources detect movement of troops and ammo, suggesting tensions will soon spiral to violence." Same information, exponentially more impact.

This framework isn't rigid—it's jazz built on solid music theory. The goal is always what's best for your audience, creating communications that are both elegant and efficient. When you consistently apply these principles, something remarkable happens: your voice becomes one people actively seek out rather than actively avoid.

The workplace revolution happening right now demands a complete rethinking of how we communicate professionally. Remote work, scattered teams, and the constant battle for attention have made crisp, clear communication the difference between thriving and barely surviving in your career.

Meet Lisa Ross, CEO of the global communications giant Edelman, who discovered that most workplace communication fails because "we hide our insecurity in additional words." She watched executives who could answer questions perfectly in casual conversation suddenly become corporate robots when writing emails or presenting to their teams. Her solution was elegantly simple: "Just say what you mean, sincerely and short."

This transformation becomes even more critical when you consider that Gallup polling reveals 70 percent of employees want shorter communications at work, yet only half actually read notes from their leaders. The math is brutal: if you're not communicating with Smart Brevity principles, you're probably wasting your time and everyone else's. The average business user now receives 126 emails per day, up from 50 in 2005, making the war for attention more fierce than ever.

The practical application starts with reimagining your most basic work communications. Instead of writing "I know you are busy and have so much on your plate, but I was hoping to let you know that I am throwing a party and hoping to get a live band to play at it," try "I'm throwing an epic bash with a live band." Your subject lines should be urgent and specific, your first sentences should contain your actual news, and your explanations should immediately clarify why this matters to your specific audience.

Smart Brevity transforms you from someone whose messages get skipped to someone whose communications get anticipated. When colleagues know you respect their time and intelligence, they start paying attention. When your updates consistently deliver value in minimal time, you become the person others turn to for clarity in the chaos. This isn't just about better emails—it's about positioning yourself as someone who can cut through complexity and drive results.

The beauty of Smart Brevity lies in its universal applicability—from boardroom presentations to social media posts, the principles remain consistently powerful while adapting to each medium's unique demands. The key is understanding that attention is the currency of the modern world, and different platforms require different approaches to earning it.

Take presentations, where most people commit the cardinal sin of cramming slides with NASCAR-like visual noise and endless bullet points. Information design theorist Edward Tufte once compared PowerPoint to "a widely used and expensive prescription drug that claimed to make you beautiful but didn't." The Smart Brevity approach flips this entirely: one message per slide, minimal text, and arresting images that tell your story in three seconds or less.

Social media becomes hand-to-hand combat for attention, where you have mere milliseconds to break through the endless scroll. The winning formula isn't asking people to click, buy, or do something—it's giving them value immediately. A tweet reading "There is water on the moon's surface, and ice may be widespread in its many shadows" loses to "Moon's wet" every single time. The emoji becomes your ally here, creating instant visual recognition and emotional connection.

Email transforms from a necessary evil into a strategic advantage when you apply Smart Brevity principles. Consider how Geoff Morrell at BP revolutionized internal communications by creating ITK (In the Know), a newsletter that aligned management worldwide. By using active verbs, clear hierarchy, and treating readers like intelligent humans rather than corporate drones, open rates soared and the format spread organically throughout the company.

The through-line across all platforms is respect—respect for your audience's time, intelligence, and competing priorities. Whether you're crafting a six-word subject line or delivering a keynote presentation, the question remains the same: if this is the only thing they remember, is it exactly what you want them to take away? When you consistently answer yes, your communications start cutting through the noise instead of adding to it.

Creating an environment where Smart Brevity thrives requires more than individual excellence—it demands systematic change that touches every aspect of how your organization shares information and makes decisions. The most successful companies aren't just using these principles occasionally; they're building entire cultures around the power of purposeful communication.

The transformation starts at the top but spreads organically when people experience the immediate benefits. At Axios, every executive sends weekly Smart Brevity newsletters to their teams and shares them with fellow leaders. What began as a simple efficiency measure evolved into something far more powerful: a living library of strategic thinking, a early-warning system for misaligned priorities, and a foundation for the kind of transparent culture that attracts and retains top talent.

Consider Matt Burns at GRAIL, a Silicon Valley biotech company, who used Smart Brevity to eliminate the plague of random internal emails that were consuming everyone's productivity. His weekly newsletter "The Rundown" replaced countless scattered updates with one predictable, valuable touchpoint. The results spoke volumes: random emails had open rates below 30 percent, while his Smart Brevity newsletter consistently achieved 90 percent engagement.

This cultural shift becomes even more crucial in our remote-first world, where clear communication literally holds organizations together. When team members are scattered across time zones and working from kitchen tables instead of corner offices, the old ways of casual hallway conversations and lengthy meetings simply don't work. Smart Brevity becomes the connective tissue that keeps everyone aligned on what matters most.

The magic happens when this approach becomes contagious throughout your organization. People start naturally writing "3 things you need to know" instead of rambling memos. Complex policy papers that previously went unread suddenly get structured for maximum clarity and impact. Performance reviews become more direct and actionable. The entire communication ecosystem elevates, creating competitive advantages that are both immediate and lasting.

Building this culture requires commitment, consistency, and the courage to challenge communication habits that have become comfortable even when they're completely ineffective. But the payoff—teams that actually understand strategy, employees who feel truly connected to purpose, and organizations that can execute with unprecedented clarity—makes every effort worthwhile.

The communication crisis facing every professional, leader, and organization today isn't going to solve itself. While the world continues accelerating toward shorter attention spans and higher information overload, those who master Smart Brevity will find themselves with an almost unfair advantage in being heard, remembered, and trusted.

This book's principles boil down to one transformative truth: "Brevity is confidence. Length is fear." When you learn to distill your thoughts to their most powerful essence, when you consistently put your audience's needs before your own ego, and when you structure your communications to cut through rather than contribute to the noise, something remarkable happens. People start seeking out your updates instead of avoiding them. Your presentations become conversations people remember rather than endure. Your leadership communications actually shape culture instead of disappearing into the void of unread emails. The path forward is clear: start with your next email, apply these principles consistently, and watch as your professional relationships and influence transform in ways you never thought possible.