One thing I’ve noticed about clever people is how few words they use to get their point across.
They don’t waffle, ramble or digress.
They get in your head, say their piece and get the hell out, leaving you mind-blown from their sucker-punch of wisdom.
Here’s how to have that effect on your readers:
1: Write fast, without editing.
2: When you’re done, go back and start chopping out words.
3: Keep on chopping ’till it no longer makes sense.
4: Then add back the last word you chopped.
Bingo: the optimal length.
It’ll take you more time than squirting out verbal diarrhea (euw, sorry), but here’s two quotes from master wordsmiths about why it’s important:
First from Mark Twain ~
Apologies for writing such a long letter. I didn’t have time to write a short one.
And another from Ernest Hemingway ~
It is always my Iron Imperative to treat my reader’s attention as more important than my own.
Smart words, smart people.
Love you lots
Jonny
PS: Fancy getting some short, smart insights on employee wellbeing from 30 global studies in one concise White Paper? Reply with “Authority” and I’ll fire you a copy over.