Book review: Smart Brevity, The Power of Saying More with Less by Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen, and Roy Schwartz (4 stars on Goodreads). They are the co-creators of Axios and Politico.
“Brevity is confidence. Length is fear.”
Top Tips
Tips from the book for giving a talk or presentation.
- Audience first. Focus on one person. Target your ideal, “target reader.”
- Do the next right thing. Respect time and intelligence.
- One thing to remember. Then, stop.
- Is my message new and essential? Shorten it, tighten.
- Only one thing you remember from the talk.
Template
Template for an essay or memo.
Header: # of words / minutes to read
Top: Headline
A. One opening sentence: "Tell me something I don’t know"
B. Why it matters: 1-2 sentences
C. Pick one call-to-action link: "Go deeper" / "Big picture" / "By the numbers"
I’ve used this format in work settings for Slack messages, email body copy, and in presentations with slide format.
Key Takeaway
This book reinforces what I already knew to be true: Content matters.
Concise and well-formatted communications are more likely to get more attention. No place is this skill more essential than at work. Product strategy, team feedback, a Town Hall intro — we are telling stories.
Tell it better with Smart Brevity: use active verbs, keep it short, and link out to read more elsewhere.
See also: Smart Brevity on Axios HQ.
The Full Stack Leader 
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