I just finished reading a compelling book: Smart Brevity by Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen, and Roy Schwartz. They’re the management team behind the news website Axios, and their philosophy has changed how I think about writing. Not just long-form writing, but emails, blog posts (like this one), and even texts.
Going into the book, to be honest, I expected 100+ pages of “cut your writing in half, then cut it again.” That certainly exists, but plenty of other nuggets are presented in concise language and accessible formatting to help you write, speak, and think more clearly and efficiently.
There is a heavy emphasis on not wasting the readers’/listeners’ time. In other words, say what you have to and let them get on with their day. I was even inspired to add a “reading time” counter to each post in this blog, which will tell readers how many minutes it will take to read the post (assuming an average reading speed of 300 words per minute). Each chapter in Smart Brevity begins with such a counter, and I found myself more likely to read another chapter because I knew it would only be another four, six, or seven minutes of my life.
While that phenomenon may only apply to reading in bulk, there are many suggestions for how to make your individual pieces more accessible. Things that used to be off-limits in certain circumstances are now common parlance and can be used skillfully to feed your story, like bulleted lists, graphics, and even (gasp!) emojis.
While I’m not quite as sold on emojis in business communications as the authors are, most of the other points in the book are solid. I break most of the rules defined in Smart Brevity, and I’ll be working to introduce more aspects of it into my writing, speaking, and thinking. It’s a quick read (24 chapters of approximately 4-6 minutes each) and I highly recommend it. TK
Smart Brevity from one of our favorite indy booksellers.
Smart Brevity from Amazon.