Brief: Powerful Strategies for Crisp Communication

??"Brief: Make a Bigger Impact by Saying Less" by Joseph McCormack is a comprehensive guide to mastering concise, impactful communication in an increasingly noisy and fast-paced world.

WHAT YOU'LL FIND HERE:

1. Is?"Brief"?for you?

2. What is "Brief" about?

3. Idea Express: How to put three (3) concepts (Deep Brevity, Narrative Mapping, and Strategies for Brevity) to work for you today!?

BONUS: The most interesting concept in "Brief" & how to grow your LinkedIn network by one (at the bottom of the article)!

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1. IS "BRIEF" FOR YOU?

“When you want to get more, decide to say less. Those who want to succeed – even thrive – in an attention-deficit economy are masters of lean communication.”

Academics: "Brief" helps you communicate complex ideas simply, enhancing the impact of your research.

Business Leaders: "Brief" teaches concise communication, improving engagement and decision-making in your organization.

Educators: Using strategies from "Brief", you can deliver lessons in engaging and digestible ways, improving learning outcomes.

Sales Professionals: "Brief" enhances your ability to concisely express value, potentially leading to more successful deals.

Students: "Brief" equips you to express your thoughts concisely and effectively, aiding in academic and future career success.

2. WHAT IS "BRIEF" ABOUT?

“To be brief doesn't just mean being concise. Your responsibility is to balance how long it takes to convey a message well enough to cause a person to act on it. That's the harmony of brevity when it's striking the right chords.”

"Brief: Make a Bigger Impact by Saying Less" by Joseph McCormack is an essential guide to impactful communication in our noisy, fast-paced world. It teaches the art of 'deep brevity,' using strategies like mapping thoughts, storytelling, conversational tone, and visual aids to deliver concise, compelling messages. McCormack's tips for clarity and engagement can transform everyday conversations, emails, presentations, and more.

How can mastering the art of brevity potentially change your life, your relationships, and your career? Find out by diving into "Brief: Make a Bigger Impact by Saying Less."

Don't wait. Discover the power of brevity and transform your communication skills. Get your copy of "Brief" today!

• AMAZON: Audiobook (5 hours, 29 minutes) and book available:

• BLINKIST: 15 minute in-depth book summary available:

3. IDEA EXPRESS: HOW TO PUT THREE (3) CONCEPTS* TO WORK FOR YOU TODAY!

1??Deep Brevity

2??Narrative Mapping

3??Strategies for Brevity

*You'll find several more concepts in the book

1??DEEP BREVITY

“To be brief is to create a compact quality of expression.”

"Deep Brevity" is about concise and meaningful communication. In our information-saturated era, it's crucial to convey your message quickly and cogently. But brevity shouldn't equate to superficiality; the goal is to express complex ideas in a succinct yet thorough way. This involves speaking directly, clearly, and concisely. Overcoming the seven identified “capital sins” of brevity: Cowardice, Confidence, Callousness, Comfort, Confusion, Complication, and Carelessness, is key to achieving this.

Page-to-practice idea for you:

• Let's say you're preparing for an important presentation at work. Instead of overwhelming your audience with countless slides filled with too much information, try to cut down your content to the most vital points. Identify what's truly essential for your audience to understand and eliminate anything that doesn't directly contribute to that understanding. By cutting out the clutter, you ensure your message is clearly understood, preventing confusion or misunderstanding.

Page-to-practice ideas tailored to:

• Academic: Condense your abstract to focus on the most critical findings in your research papers.
• Business Leader: Simplify your mission statement to the essential aspects that drive your business.
• Educator: Break down complex topics into essential facts for your students.
• Sales Professional: Highlight key features of your product to prospective clients.
• Student: Summarize each study chapter by extracting main ideas and key details.

2??NARRATIVE MAPPING

“Narrative mapping synthesizes volumes of information into a visual outline that produces a logical, strategic, highly contextual and relevant story.”

Narrative Mapping is a technique used to tell engaging stories. People remember stories better than dry facts or corporate speak. A good story is clear, concise, and compelling. Using narrative mapping, you can condense a lot of information into a visual outline that tells a logical, strategic, relevant story. The elements of the narrative map are the Focal Point, Setup, Opportunity, Approach, and Payoff.

Page-to-practice idea for you:

• If you're explaining a complex process or event to a friend, you might find it beneficial to use narrative mapping. Start by identifying the key elements of the story (Focal Point, Setup, and Payoff), and then sketch a simple map on a piece of paper or a whiteboard. This visual guide will help you structure your explanation, making it easier for your friend to follow along and understand the complexity of the event.

Page-to-practice ideas tailored to:

• Academic: Illustrate your research methodology using a visually engaging flowchart.
• Business Leader: Visualize your company’s roadmap for clearer communication with your team.
• Educator: Use graphical organizers to visually represent complex topics.
• Sales Professional: Use a clear sales funnel to guide prospects on their buying journey.
• Student: Create mind maps to understand connections between concepts.

3??STRATEGIES FOR BREVITY

“Your leadership team doesn't know what to do with your assessment and guidance and subconsciously starts questioning your leadership ability. “What is your recommendation or plan of attack?” they wonder. When someone who is braver and clearer steps up, you're history.”

"Strategies for Brevity" refers to a set of strategies to help make your communication brief yet impactful. The strategies include: "Map It," "Tell It," "Talk It," and "Show It." "Map It" involves planning your communication in advance. "Tell It" refers to using storytelling. "Talk It" involves keeping your speech conversational and engaging. And "Show It" refers to the use of visuals to make your message more powerful and easier to understand. With these strategies, the aim is to make brevity the signature element of your communication style.

Page-to-practice idea for you:

• Suppose you're sending an important email to your team. Instead of writing a long, complex message, try using the "Map It" strategy. Write down your key points first, then structure your message around them. Ensure every sentence in your email adds value and directly contributes to the message you're trying to convey. By doing so, you not only make your email easier to read but also enhance its impact.

Page-to-practice ideas tailored to:

• Academic: Keep your lectures focused on key points, avoiding tangents.
• Business Leader: In meetings, discuss core objectives and actions, eliminating unnecessary jargon.
• Educator: Keep parent-teacher meetings concise by addressing key issues and actions.
• Sales Professional: Keep your pitches concise, focusing on customer benefits and actions.
• Student: When writing essays, present arguments succinctly, avoiding repetition.

• AMAZON: Audiobook (5 hours, 29 minutes) and book available:

• BLINKIST: 15 minute in-depth book summary available:

??Did you find the ideas or examples in this LinkedIn article insightful? Your 'like' or 'repost' could make a difference! It enables LinkedIn to spread the word, helping others benefit from these concepts too.

BONUS: THE MOST INTERESTING IDEA IN "BRIEF"

If I had to choose one thing, I'd say what I found most interesting is the concept of Deep Brevity. It's not just about being short or concise, it's about capturing the essence of our thoughts and delivering them effectively. It's an art of compression without loss of meaning, a way to respect others' time and attention. It's like a skillful chef reducing a sauce to its richest flavors. It's changed how I approach communication - I now strive to make every word count, ensuring I'm conveying my thoughts with the utmost clarity and depth, but with fewer words.

Which idea in “Brief” do you find most interesting???

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GROW YOUR PROFESSIONAL NETWORK BY ONE!

Feel free to send me a connection request on LinkedIn - it's always great to meet new professionals!

DID YOU KNOW THERE ARE OVER 100 COGNITIVE BIASES?

We're covering 200 of them in the 'Cognitive Cleanup' series! Check out the first one in the series below and start discovering what they are, how to avoid them, and practical ways to use them to benefit your family, friends, and co-workers. New ones published through Idea Express each Friday.

OTHER LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES:

There are a few places I get inspiration for 'Idea Express' - Blinkist is one of them. I make it a habit to listen to new book summaries every week: