I am totally in awe with the smart brevity concept. In a very long time, recently, I came across a TED Talk worth taking notes, and I wrote about it on Linkedin.
I had the choice to simply share the link to the video but here is the crux of what Jim VandeHei said in this TED TALK.
After watching it once, I decided to watch again, and take #notesforself. When I finished it, I knew they were gold gems that I must share as well. And, so, here they are.
Jim explained that what the data is saying. And that is,
- Almost nobody is reading (or listening) what you write.
- Everyone is getting hit with more & more info.
- Everyone is perpetually distracted.
- Hence, everyone is skimming, not reading.
- People share stuff without bothering the read the whole thing through.
As a species we are always prone to distraction.
Contrary to popular belief, we are not designed as multitaskers.
We can only focus at one thing at a time.
Jim built an entire company, Axios, around teaching SMART BREVITY.
When I started building GulfJobSites.com way back in 2001, there was only one motivation: The selfless desire to help my friends and cousins find better jobs in the Gulf region. As time went by, other initiatives also took shape and a number of people successfully moved to Dubai and other Gulf countries.
From time to time I also post articles in the Career Advice section that can help you do better in your career. This article about smart brevity is here for the same reason.
Here is the Smart Brevity mantra
- Stop being selfish. Place audience first, and write what your audience cares about.
- Grab me. If all you had were 26 seconds, what is the one thing you want the audience to remember and pay attention to.
- Keep it simple. The age old KISS principle. Say it in the most simple words.
- Be human. Write like a human. Don’t boast your knowledge. Don’t showoff your vocabulary or degrees.
- Just stop. Use as few words as possible, and give people their time back. And save your own too.
Jim, thankyou for sharing this brilliant technique with the world.
If you benefit from these tips, would you please share your experience in the comments below.