Smart Brevity

3. Pictures tell a vivid story.

The most important words you type are subject lines, headlines and the first line of tweets, notes or papers. You need to grab me, entice me, seduce me.

• As a Yaros study puts it: “This is NOT multitasking but a user constantly thinking about the next alert, text or email.” • That’s arresting: Even when they’re looking at your words, many readers aren’t paying attention.

There is no better way to communicate multiple things of importance—and get people to pay attention—than a smart, zippy newsletter, all in Smart Brevity.

Go to SmartBrevity.com, upload something you wrote, and get an instant Smart Brevity score and some helpful feedback.

Smart Brevity is a new way to think about creating, sharing and consuming information in our cluttered, clanging digital world.

It started with what we call 5 Big Things—a weekly

• It’s a word diet. Never easy. Requires discipline. But the results are a healthier and better-looking you.

All they usually want to know is what’s new and “Why it matters.” Give them that.