Where's the Brief?
Say More With Less
I used to want to be a writer but then I found out that people don’t read. It’s not that they don’t want to. There are just too many words and not enough time.
In their book “Smart Brevity,” authors Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen, and Roy Schwartz share some illuminating stats:
Roughly one-third of work emails go unread.
Over half our time at work is spent on communication.
Most chapters of most books are never seen.
We are all skimmers at heart. We have to be in order to keep up with the barrage of words flying at our eyes and ears everyday. Once we embrace this reality, we can adapt our own communication to cut through noise and focus on signal.
“I didn't have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.” - Mark Twain
Companies spend countless hours hiring, onboarding, and training their teams but little or no time is spent on how those same team members are expected to communicate. This needs to change. Now.
So here’s my advice:
Keep it brief
Cut the fluff
Stick to three
Say More With Less
Brevity is a skill. It doesn’t come naturally to us because it runs counter to what we learned in school. Our assignments came with word-count quotas and authors like Cervantes, Dostoyevsky, and Tolstoy were held in high esteem.
When it came time to apply what we learned to a business setting, we all became authors of our own non-fiction and we spewed more words into the abyss.
To break this habit we first need to recognize that we are not writing for ourselves. We are asking our audience to spend the most precious resource they have. Time is our currency. Don’t waste it.
Cut the Fluff
Early on in my career at GoFundMe I was guilty of saying more when less was needed. I have a clear memory of our co-founder calling me into his office, pointing at my lengthy email on his computer screen and saying “I am not going to read this.”
Initially I was surprised (offended even!) that he wasn’t going to read my extremely important and urgent email. But then I saw the rest of his inbox and it clicked. I was writing for me and not for him and I had to change if I ever wanted to be heard.
When I found myself in his shoes and my own team was sending me important and urgent messages I made sure to share the same insight. “Take what you have written and cut it in half” was my common advice. My advice to you is the same.
The Rule of Three
Brevity will get your foot in the door but clarity will ensure that your communication sticks. To achieve clarity, limit your content to three core concepts. Here’s why:
Three is the smallest number needed to form a pattern. Our brains are pattern-recognition machines that give meaning and understanding to the patterns we see. Nature, art, religion - all channel the power of three.
Can you spot the rule of three at work in this post?
Further Reading