Information Overload: Why Brevity Is Becoming A Business...

The power of brevity. Focus on your strongest arguments to make a point- A lesson being taught in management schools.

- Vibha Singh

The business world is experiencing information overload, and there isn’t enough time to sift through everything that comes our way. If you can’t capture your audience’s attention and deliver your message with brevity, people will disconnect with you, and it may cost you promising career opportunities. The unspoken expectation is that successful people will be masters of brevity.

The discipline to capture and manage elusive mindshare now shapes and defines professional success. Shorter emails, better organized updates, and tighter and more engaging presentations are immediate indicators that you’ve got what it takes to succeed.

Hemingway, it’s said, was sitting around a table with a gathering of friends, when he wagered a bet. I can write a complete story, he said, in six words. Money fell onto the table. Then Papa shared: For sale: baby shoes, never worn. To this day, nobody knows if it ever actually happened, though the tale of the wager and the 6-word story has become the stuff of legend in the world of writing.

In those six words lies an entire story, rich enough to bring some to tears. Hemingway was hailed for his efficiency with words.

Nothing was extraneous.

Every syllable had import.

It’s not just about brevity or linguistic efficiency. How logical are you? You might consider yourself more logical than most – you hope to be a trusted adviser to your friends and colleagues. However, this doesn’t make you immune to a quirk of human nature that can fog your judgment, according to Niro Sivanathan, LBS Associate Professor of Organisational Behaviour.

“The truth is far too often we see people speak up, but fail to influence,” says Dr Sivanathan. “The message was sound, but the delivery proved faulty.”