Smart Brevity: The Power of Saying More with Less

“Never in the history of humanity have we vomited more words in more places with more velocity.”

The quote establishes the informal, conversational tone that remains the norm throughout the book. Even though the subject matter provides practical and important advice, the authors’ tone never strays too far from levity and humor, as evidenced by this passage. This voice reflects the authors’ broader recommendation to speak authentically even while striving for smart brevity.

“We check our phones 344-plus times each day—once every 4 minutes, at least. Behavioral research—and our own BS detectors—show we underreport our true usage.”

The authors use these statistics to support their larger point, namely that communication patterns have changed over time, specifically with regard to how people receive and consume information. The authors follow a similar pattern throughout the book, using memorable data to provide validity to a previously made claim. This approach to presenting an argument also aligns with the authors’ later advice to back up “the Big Thought” with statistics or stories.

“Our solution to the fog of words is enticing people to produce and consume fewer of them—far fewer.”

The “fog of words” is an extension of the sense of overwhelm in relation to content production presented in Quote 1. The advice here, which introduces the theme of Cutting Through the Noise With Punchier Writing, is somewhat counterintuitive. In order to feel heard, most people tend to use more words; however, the authors argue that adding to the word fog will have less of an impact than using fewer words that have been carefully chosen to present an idea with clarity and directness.