Brief: Make a Bigger Impact by Saying Less

What people are saying about brevity. I get several hundred emails per day. I wish people would just ask for what they want in the first sentence. I dont need to know their whole life history to make a decision. Getting people to be brief would save everyone a lot of time. Guy Kawasaki, author, publisher and entrepreneur You could write a book about trying to get people to pay closer attention and stop getting distracted and interrupted, or you could help people be succinct. Joe has chosen the better path. John Challenger, CEO, Challenger, Gray and Christmas We are entering an age of infobesity. Brief is your new weapon to cut through the clutter and stand out. Sam Horn, author of POP! and Eyebrow Test As a military leader, telling a story thats clear and concise helped me to thrive in a sometimes hostile media environment overseas. Im convinced that following Joes counsel and insights has made me a more effective and efficient leader. Lieutenant General William B. Caldwell, IV (ret.)

Foreword xiii Acknowledgments xv Preface xvii Part ONE AWARENESS: HEIGHTENED AWARENESS IN A WORLD BEGGING FOR BRIEF 1 1 Why Brevity Is Vital 3 2 Mindful of Mind–filled–ness 13 3 Why You Struggle with Brevity:The Seven Capital Sins 27 4 The Big Bang of Brevity 35 Part TWO DISCIPLINE: HOW TO GAIN DISCIPLINE TO BE CLEAR AND CONCISE 41 5 Mental Muscle Memory to Master Brevity 43 6 Map It: From Mind Mapping to BRIEF Maps 45 7 Tell It: The Role of Narratives 59 8 Talk It: Controlled Conversations and TALC Tracks 81 9 Show It: PowerfulWays to Make a Picture Exceed a ThousandWords 91 10 Putting Brevity toWork: Grainger and the Al and Betty Story 105 Part THREE DECISIVENESS: GAINING THE DECISIVENESS TO KNOW WHEN AND WHERE TO BE BRIEF 111 11 Meeting You Halfway 113 12 Leaving a Smaller Digital Imprint 123 13 Presenting a Briefer Case 133 14 Trimming Your Sales (Pitch) 143 15 Whose Bright IdeaWas That Anyway? 153 16 It’s Never Really Small Talk 165 17 HelpWanted: Master of Brevity 173 18 I’ve Got Some Good News 183 19 And the Bad News Is… 189 20 Got–a–Minute Updates 197 Part FOUR BEING BRIEF SUMMARY AND ACTION PLAN 207 Resources 219 Notes 221 About the Author 225 Index 227

JOSEPH McCORMACK is the founder and CEO of Sheffield Marketing Partners. Sheffield specializes in message and narrative development, and also provides video production and marketing communications services to help package stories to suit the right audiences. Joe has more than 20 years of experience as a senior marketing executive helping companies develop strategic communications that make them stand apart in a challenging marketplace.