Joseph McCormackBrief: Make a Bigger Impact by Saying Less

Loved it.Highly impactful book.Worth reading carefully.It will change the way you communicate, and likely improve your life.Also available for 1 credit on audible, if you prefer to listen to it.

We are living in an” attention-deficit” era. We want our food faster, queues shorter, and our answers, quicker.Almost everyone is busy. From the executive suite to the shop floor, managers are too busy for a rambling presentation that gets lost in a flood of information. Whether you are making a formal presentation or informally presenting you point of view, you are battling against the listener’s inattention, interruptions, and impatience. You must make your point before your audience or listener gets distracted.The problem has multiple sources. We inundated with information by coming at us incessantly. Professionals receive 304 emails each week according to software development company, Atlassian.Prevailing research shows that the average attention span of adults had dropped from 12 seconds five years ago to 8 seconds today. That is “seconds” not minutes! Add to this the stream of problems that compete for management’s time and consideration.The effect of technology is to makes everything happen faster. Technology has raised our impatience and our intolerance for waiting for results.The consequence of all these factors is that being brief is a necessity, but is rarely delivered. Being brief is not only about the time you take to communicate. More importantly, is how long it feels to the listener. It's not about using the least amount of time. It is about making the most of the time you have.The subtitle of this book is, “Make a bigger impact by saying less.” The book’s intention is to heighten you awareness of the problem and to provide a method for the solution.“When we fail to be clear and concise, the consequences can be brutal,” author McCormack asserts. Clearly, time is wasted, but there are other serious consequences – we make decisions in confusion, and reject worthy ideas.What being brief requires explanation. “There's a tendency to think brevity is pushing for less and runs the risk of being superficial and lacking substance,” says McCormack.There are two types of brevity: “light brevity” and “deep brevity.” “Light brevity” is being concise without real comprehension. “Deep brevity” is being succinct based on deep knowledge or deep expertise.You cannot share all the experiences or research that led you to your conclusions. Sharing it all would require of the listeners the same amount of time it took you to arrive at the conclusions. Given the background of the listeners, there is no alternative to deep brevity.The solution provided by McCormack begins with an often forgotten premise. You must know what is important to the listeners. For example: What is the problem for which they need a solution? How much time can they devote to your presentation?There is a skill required to be brief. It is the skill of absorbing “an hour's worth of complex information and summarize it in a 2-minute debrief.” Fortunately, it is a skill anyone can learn with practice. (I know this is true, I have been summarising a business book every week for 18-years, and I can see how much better and faster I can do it now, than when I first started.)The challenge also includes a balancing act - being concise, clear, and compelling. This balance is particularly necessary if you want people to act on what you are presenting.Teachers require schoolchildren to make outlines of their essays before writing them. Professionals mistakenly abandon outlines on the assumption that they have outgrown them. This is a mistake; great companies such as Boeing embrace them enthusiastically because outlines “provide a skeletal view that lets you think about your thinking.”McCormack uses the acronym “BRIEF” for the organizing thoughts using outlines. “B” is for the background to your presentation. “R” is for the relevance of your views to the listeners. “I” is the information you must include. “E” is the compelling ending. “F” is the follow-up questions you can expect.An underutilized tool for holding people’s attention and sharing ideas is the well-crafted story. The power of a good narrative is that it speaks directly to you, creates instant clarity, and is more memorable. In a well-crafted story can captures facts, nuances, and insights.Unveiling the first iPhone at MacWorld in 2007, Steve Jobs explained how Apple was going to deliver on his promise to improve the user interface and phone software. McCormack quotes part of this story to illustrate the point. “Who wants a stylus? You have to get them and put them away, and you lose them… Nobody wants a stylus…. [the iPhone is] far more accurate than any touch display that has ever been shipped. It ignores unintended touches; it's super-smart. You can do multi-finger gestures on it.”Instead of launching into a list of all the phone's features, Jobs told his audience a compelling story they could all embrace.Stories are a more human and respectful way to communicate, as well. The warning is to keep them short and to the point.When designing the Fiesta, Ford used a fictional 28-year old woman living in Rome named Antonella, complete with a fictional life and preferences. Designers tested all decisions against what Antonella would like.McCormack captures the power of brevity in this story: “Imagine it is Christmas Eve. You bought your child a bicycle, but you realize, “Oh no, I have to assemble it.” Now imagine the relief you feel as you look at the box and see the words “No assembly required.”Deep brevity gives the listener a “no assembly required” message. This is a comfort to people today in a fast-paced world of information, inattention, interruptions, and impatience. Brevity is making your point before your audience gets distracted.The book does succeed in offering good advice on improving your brevity. However, it has a second unintended teaching – this book far too long for the actual lesson it contains. It keeps going long after the reader “gets it.” It is a good example of why attention to brevity is required.Readability Light +---- SeriousInsights High -+--- LowPractical High --+-- Low*Ian Mann of Gateways consults internationally on leadership and strategy and is the author of Strategy that Works.

Brief: An Elegant and Short Guide to the Art of Writing by Joseph McCormack is a concise and practical guide to writing more effectively. In this book, McCormack argues that brevity is essential for effective communication and provides readers with tips and strategies for achieving concision in their writing.The book is structured around the acronym "BRIEF," which stands for "Background, Relevance, Information, Ending, and Follow-up." Each chapter focuses on one of these elements and provides readers with specific advice for making their writing more concise and impactful. McCormack uses a range of examples from business writing to illustrate his points, making the book relevant to professionals in a variety of fields.One of the strengths of the book is its focus on practical advice. McCormack provides readers with concrete strategies for improving their writing, such as using shorter sentences, avoiding jargon, and being mindful of their audience. The book is written in a clear and accessible style, making it easy to follow and apply to one's own writing.Another strength of the book is its brevity. McCormack practices what he preaches and keeps the book short and to the point. This makes it a quick and easy read, and also reinforces the importance of brevity in effective communication.While the book is primarily focused on business writing, the strategies and advice it offers are relevant to anyone looking to improve their writing. Whether you are writing emails, reports, or even creative works, the principles of brevity and clarity that McCormack espouses can be applied to any type of writing.Overall, Brief is a practical and useful guide to improving one's writing. The book is concise, well-organized, and full of actionable advice. Whether you are a seasoned writer or just starting out, this book is sure to help you communicate more effectively and efficiently.

This book gives examples on how not to lose your audience and how to know your audience. If you're interested in this book that means you're probably looking to get better at briefing. This book will help get you there. Get to the point.

I read it on a cross country flight; could not put it down - easy to read yet so much substance.McCormack combines tangible lessons on how to practically apply his principles with entertaining stories and witty examples.His approach to communication is intuitive but rarely followed. He clearly lays out the why then the how of clear and efficient communication.This is about getting more done at work and in life by being disciplined with communication. Just consider the time wasted by our long winded bosses!To be clear, its not about speaking in 140 characters or less. To quote the book, "To be brief doesn't just mean being concise. Your responsibility to is convey a message well enough to cause a person to act on it." And he tells you how.After I read it, I felt compelled to practice it for the betterment of those around me.Immensely helpful, extremely practical, essential.Read it today, better yet, buy it for your boss.

This book has some interesting insights on the importance of communication. This was a worthwhile read in that I have put a couple of the ideas into practice. My issue with the book is that it is way to long with a lot of unnecessary illustrations that act as nothing more (in my opinion) than filler to create a book of suitable case bound publishing length. This could've been much more effective as a long form article in a business magazine or perhaps an 80 page paper back book.

Really nice book. Must for those dealing in corporate world!

Quick shipment. Content very useful, what I'm looking for my personal improvement.Suggested.

Great and briefly book. Insightful, easy to read and a sure recommendation for anyone who works on the creative industry.

I was told by recruiter that I need to be brief and well articulated in Interviews when applying for Senior positions. So I wanted a book which can help me say in a measured way. This book explained very well what is brief. I have started getting positive feedback after applying the learnings of this book.