Smart Brevity
The Power of Saying More with Less
by Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen, and Roy Schwartz
“Smart Brevity is a brilliant and timely book. In a world where attention spans are shorter than ever, VandeHei, Allen, and Schwartz show us how to communicate more effectively by saying less.”
Why No One Is Reading Your Emails (and the System to Fix It)
Take a look at your inbox. It’s likely filled with long, rambling emails—dense "walls of text" that meander through background information before finally, somewhere in the fifth paragraph, getting to the point. What’s your reaction? If you’re like most people, you feel a sense of dread. You skim, you hunt for the key takeaway, and you probably miss the sender's actual request. Now, consider your own communication. Are you doing the same thing to your colleagues, clients, and boss?
The way we were taught to write in school—with a winding introduction, a detailed body, and a summary conclusion—is failing us spectacularly in the modern professional world. In their essential guide, Smart Brevity, the founders of the news organization Axios argue that we are facing a communication crisis. We are drowning our audiences in information, and the greatest sin a communicator can commit is wasting someone else's time. Their solution is a disciplined, audience-centric system designed for how people actually consume information today.
What You'll Learn
Why the way you learned to write in school is precisely the wrong way to communicate professionally.
The four core principles of the "Smart Brevity" communication style, used by Axios.
How to craft a powerful "Axiom"—a single sentence that delivers your most important message upfront.
Practical techniques for making your emails, reports, and presentations more impactful and far more likely to be read.
The science behind why short, scannable content is more effective for the modern brain.
The Diagnosis: We Are All Victims of Information Overload
The core problem is simple: our brains are overwhelmed. We are bombarded with thousands of messages a day, and our attention spans have shrunk accordingly. We don't read; we scan. We hunt for the information we need and ignore the rest.
Traditional writing styles fight this reality. They "bury the lede," forcing the reader to wade through paragraphs of context to find the key point. Smart Brevity does the exact opposite. It respects the reader's time by putting the most important information first, in a format that is designed to be skimmed. It’s not about "dumbing down" your ideas; it’s about presenting them with maximum efficiency and impact.
The Four Pillars of Smart Brevity
The Smart Brevity system is built on four simple but powerful principles that can be applied to any form of communication, from a company-wide memo to a quick Slack message.
1. Start with a Powerful "Axiom"
Before you write a single word, you must be able to answer the question: "What is the one thing I want my reader to know?" Your answer, distilled into a single, strong, tweet-length sentence, is your Axiom. It is your headline and your core thesis rolled into one. It’s the first thing your audience reads, and it might be the only thing they read. A good Axiom immediately orients the reader and delivers the most critical piece of information.
2. Tell Them "Why It Matters"
Immediately after the Axiom, you must answer the reader's next unspoken question: "So what?" This is the hook. It connects your core message to something the reader cares about. It explains the significance of the information and gives them a compelling reason to keep reading. A strong "Why It Matters" statement turns a piece of data into a piece of insight.
3. Use Clean, Crisp Language
Smart Brevity is the enemy of jargon, fluff, and corporate-speak. The goal is to communicate with forceful clarity.
Use short sentences and strong, active verbs.
Cut unnecessary words. "At this point in time" becomes "now." "In order to" becomes "to." "The fact of the matter is" gets deleted entirely.
Talk like a human. Avoid acronyms and overly formal language that creates distance between you and your reader.
A friend of mine, a project manager, used to write updates like, "It has come to our attention that a prioritization of resource allocation will need to be effectuated." After learning these principles, he now writes, "We need to reassign two engineers to the main project." The meaning is the same, but the clarity is night and day.
4. Design for Scannability
How your message looks is just as important as what it says. In a world of scanners, your formatting is a functional tool that guides the reader’s eye.
Use bullet points: They are easier to process than a dense paragraph.
Use bolding: Bolding key phrases or numbers helps them pop for the reader who is just skimming.
Use whitespace: Short paragraphs and generous spacing make a document feel less intimidating and easier to navigate.
The Smart Brevity Makeover: A 'Before & After' Email
Let's see how these principles can transform a typical corporate email.
BEFORE: The Wall of Text
Subject: Update on Q3 Project Initiatives
Hi Team,
I wanted to circle back and provide an update regarding the status of our various project initiatives for the third quarter. As you know, we have several key workstreams in progress, including Project Phoenix, which is a top priority for the leadership team as we move into the next phase of our strategic plan. It is imperative that we have a clear understanding of the progress and any potential roadblocks for the upcoming budget review meeting. Therefore, I would like to request that each of you provide me with a summary of your team's work so I can consolidate it for the presentation.
Thanks,
AFTER: The Smart Brevity Version
Subject: Project Phoenix Update Needed by 3 PM Friday
1 big thing: We need a one-paragraph status update on Project Phoenix for the leadership meeting.
Why it matters: This update will directly influence our budget allocation for the next quarter.
What we need from you:
Your top 3 accomplishments since our last check-in.
A list of any current roadblocks or risks.
Please send this by: 3 PM this Friday.
Thanks for your help.
The second version is faster to read, impossible to misunderstand, and far more likely to get a quick, accurate response.
Your First Smart Brevity Challenge
Ready to put this into practice? Try these simple exercises.
1. Find Your Axiom: Before you write your next important email or report, stop. Force yourself to summarize its single most important point in one strong sentence. Write that sentence at the very top.
2. Add the "Why It Matters": Right below your Axiom, write a new sentence that starts with "Why this matters:" and directly explain the significance to your reader.
3. Go on a Fluff Hunt: Open a recent document you wrote. Go through it and find five "fluffy" words or phrases to cut (e.g., "utilize," "due to the fact that," "in order to," "for all intents and purposes").
4. Break Up a Paragraph: Take one dense paragraph from an upcoming presentation. Reformat it using at least one bulleted list and by bolding two or three key phrases. Notice how much easier it is to digest.
Final Reflections
Smart Brevity is more than just a writing style; it's a communication philosophy built on a deep and profound respect for the audience. In a world drowning in information, clarity and brevity are not compromises—they are prerequisites for being heard. By forcing us to be disciplined, focused, and audience-centric, the principles of Smart Brevity help us cut through the noise, make our ideas land with greater impact, and ultimately lead and communicate more effectively.
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