Smart Brevity: The Power of Saying More with Less (Revised and Updated)

Most people don't read; they scan documents, articles, and emails. In the book, Smart Brevity: The Power of Saying More with Less, you get a behind-the-scenes look at how American news website Axios writes its articles. Axios founders Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen, and Roy Schwartz (Author) provide a simple method to help readers easily digest a bit of information - and then the reader can decide if they want more in-depth coverage. At a glance, the format is: A headline that grabs attention A short paragraph on "why it matters" Go deeper using some prompts. There are a ton of examples and tips to take your thoughts and concisely write them. It's an intriguing format to use - especially within a company or a team - to quickly share information. I appreciate the simplicity and structure, however, I would not use this format all the time. It's a bit too curt and eschews some of the cultural nuances and niceties that build a connection between the writer and the reader.

This book came at just the right time for me as someone transitioning into Managerial/Senior roles in my career. While the challenge remains how to present balanced advice and written communication in a way that evaluates risk and proffers solutions, as a lawyer, I get the occasional grunt about how lawyers just write long, long "epistles". The tips and insights in this book provide a breath of fresh air - keeping the message short, sharp and laser focused on the solutions that impact the bottom line and prevent/mitigate enterprise risk. I'm a Smart Brevity convert.

When I started reading Axios when it was brand spankin new, I was instantly hooked. And it wasn’t a mystery why. Their format is the single greatest way to read the news that you’ll find on the internet. I think for news/newsletters, it is ideal. I absolutely love the idea of using it to communicate regularly across the various departments in your company. As a remote worker, I can see immense value in that. The one downside is that it sort of murders the art of writing. This book was good and useful and easy to read, but the whole Smart Brevity style doesn’t come through in a book nearly as well as in an email. The whole point of book is to be long-form. So — 5 stars for the idea of Smart Brevity, but 4 stars for the book itself.

Here’s a short Amazon-style review tailored for Smart Brevity: The Power of Saying More with Less: --- ⭐ Quick Review for Smart Brevity Clear, punchy, and practical. This book delivers exactly what it promises—how to communicate better by saying less.

This book easy to read and breaks out the learning in right size chunks. Engaging, relevant and lessons learned can immediately be put to use. Thankful for reading this book.

The authors do have some good ideas here. It does make sense to trim down communications to their essentials. However, I do have a few issues: First, their insistence on pointing out "Why it matters" to draw readers in -- this requires the writer to have a strong point of view and interpret what matters to whom and why, and those assumptions may well be wildly off the mark. e.g., I may come up with a different conclusion on "why it matters" from reading the underlying material. Also, perhaps due to the nature of the authors' work with Politico and Axios, their guidelines on how to write concise articles reads like a "How-To" tutorial on creating listicles with clickbait titles. For example, their suggestions on headline writing suggests downright deception, such as "Why the CEO doesn't have a Lunch Buddy" for an article on Return-To-Office. And they advocate bullet points, which while better than a wall of text, often sound terse, abrupt, and impersonal -- and BTW have developed a bad reputation from listicles. If you want your communications to look like a Buzzfeed article, then follow the book religiously. Otherwise take the book's best points and synthesize your own approach.

This is an excellent resource for learning to write in clear, concise and effective ways.

149,513 That is the number of emails being sent globally as you read this message. So how do you make yours (or any other type of message you are trying to share) cut through and make an impact? This is the premise of the new book by the Editors of the newsletter Axios in their new book Smart Brevity. And this may be the MOST helpful book I have read in 5 years. The authors take the research in brain and social science and combine it with their own success in communicating with millions of people each day to create an action plan for you to become a more impactful writer, speaker, presenter, or Tweeter. The key starting premise is that your message should be about the needs of the receiver and NOT your needs. By focusing on the key message you want to deliver and presenting it in a way that your audience will receive it, comprehend it, and retain it, you will change the impact you have with all of your communication. A bonus impact is by communicating this way, you have the opportunity to become more inclusive in your communication so the members of your audience who may suffer from challenges like Dyslexia or ADHD or who speak English as a second language will find your communication more readable and actionable. We are all bombarded with words all day. Smart Brevity can help you thin out the wasted words and focus on the message you want to deliver.

The concept of "Smart Brevity" can be well explained in a short blog post, but it's a disaster to make it a 200-page book. # Fun Fact Using the "smart brevity" technique, you can trim 90% of the content and get the same idea. # Advice to the author: * Show me more concrete examples, instead of vague and wordy sentences. (Chapter 6: Grab Me!) * Stop boring me with the "someone applied smart brevity and success" story. (Chapter 4: Audience First) # Serious advice to the author: Writing a book is hard, you have pages to fill, I understand. But at least make it fun to read. Your "Smart Brevity" is not a good way to write a book, I think you knew it. Here's the book I recommend: "The Adweek Copywriting Handbook", you will enhance your writing skill set, instead of being limited in the "Smart Brevity" way.

Fantastic read, this is all :)

Brilliant insight. Brilliant research. Brilliant presentation. For those who hate fluff and excess, this is a must read.

A short and power-packed dynamite of a book which will help you improve your workplace communication immediately. Improve your email, meetings and presentations. Just buy the book.

El libro cumple