You’re wasting your reader’s time. Here’s how to change, in just six words. Brevity is confidence. Length is fear.
This guiding principle turned first Politico and then Axios into hugely influential media companies. It’s also in the dna of Smart Brevity™, the Axios spin-off that teaches Fortune 500 companies, organisations, professional writers and other individuals how to get their message heard. Now they’ve distilled their lessons into an essential guide – and manifesto – for writing effectively in the digital age.
Smart Brevityis a system and strategy that will teach anyone who works with words how to think more sharply, communicate more crisply, and save your readers time. It’s about how to say more with less. And how, on a deeper level, to clean up and reframe your thinking.
You’ll learn how to create a muscular tease – the thing that will flag down your reader’s attention. How to craft a 'lede' – a short, sharp, memorable opening sentence. How to round up, prioritise, weigh and whittle down your most important points. There are dozens of tips chosing the right words, kicking bad habits (hello, irony), and staying provocative. And rules-of-thumb: Would you read it if you hadn’t written it?
Today we’re drowning in words. Back when the authors worked at The Washington Post, web trackers revealed an eye-opening truth: hardly anyone it clicked through a story’s first page. Here’s how to fight through that fatigue and ensure that your message is finally and fully heard.
Author Biography:
Jim VandeHei is the co-founder, CEO and Chairman of Axios, a media company focused on breaking news and invaluable insights across business, politics, technology and the world. VandeHei is also an executive producer of the Emmy Award-winning docu-news series, Axioson HBO. Before Axios, VandeHei co-founded and was CEO of Politico, the media company that upended and revolutionised political and policy journalism in Washington, New York, and Europe. Overseeing both the editorial and business teams, VandeHei was the leading strategist behind its highly scalable and successful business model. Prior to this, VandeHei spent more than a decade as a reporter, covering the Presidency and Congress for The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post. He was named national Editor of the Year in 2016. VandeHei is from Oshkosh, Wisconsin. He has a bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
Mike Allen is a co-founder of Axios. Mike is responsible for Axios editorial coverage, and writes the flagship daily newsletters, Axios AM and Axios PM. Mike was a co-founder of Politico, where he created the Playbook franchise and helped build the company for its first decade. He has been named several times to Vanity Fair's 'New Establishment' list. He is also an alumnus of TIME, The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Richmond Times-Dispatch and The (Fredericksburg, Va.) Free Lance-Star. Allen is from Orange County, Calif., and graduated from Washington and Lee University.
Roy Schwartz is the co-founder and President of Axios. As President, Schwartz has led Axios through multiple fundraising rounds, overseen all company strategy and business operations and most recently launched Axios HQ, an internal communications software platform to help teams communicate more effectively. Schwartz also serves as executive producer of the Emmy Award-winning docu-news series Axios on HBO. Under his leadership, Axios was listed as one of Fast Company’s 'World’s Most Innovative Companies 2018' and announced as Washington Business Journal’s '2021 Fastest Growing Companies'. Schwartz has been named as one of DCInno's 2016 '50 on Fire' for marketing and advertising, and as 2015 FOLIO 100 'Corporate Catalyst'. Schwartz is the former chief revenue officer for Politico. Prior to Politico, he was a Partner at Gallup’s management consulting practice in Washington, DC and California advising Fortune 500 companies on employee and customer engagement. Schwartz was born in Israel and grew up in England. He has a bachelor's degree and M.B.A. from the University of Maryland.
