Things Learned From…
Smart Brevity: The Power of Saying More with Less, by Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen, and Roy Schwartz
Smart Brevity’s Core 4
Smart Brevity, in written form, has four main parts, all easy to learn and put into practice—and then teach.
They don’t apply in every circumstance but will help you begin to get your mind around the shifts you need to make.
A muscular “tease”:
Whether in a tweet, headline or email subject line, you need six or fewer strong words to yank someone’s attention away from Tinder or TikTok.
One strong first sentence, or “lede”:
Your opening sentence should be the most memorable—tell me something I don’t know, would want to know, should know. Make this sentence as direct, short and sharp as possible.
Context, or “Why it matters”:
We’re all faking it. Mike and I learned this speaking to Fortune 500 CEOs. We all know a lot about a little. We’re too ashamed or afraid to ask, but we almost always need you to explain why your new fact, idea or thought matters.
The choice to learn more, or “Go deeper”:
Don’t force someone to read or hear more than they want. Make it their decision. If they decide “yes,” what follows should be truly worth their time.
And then try to do all of this on one screen of a phone, regardless of what it is.
Voila…Smart Brevity.
Thanks for reading! Hope you have a terrific day.
#1072