Smart Brevity
3 things I learned from this book that could be applied to project management
There is a time and a place for Smart Brevity: The Power of Saying More with Less. But is that place Substack?
Why it Matters: This is a book on how to communicate efficiently in the digital age with colleagues who are bogged down with information overload.
According to the Project Management Institute, lack of effective communication is the number one reason projects fail.
Therefore, I present 3 things from this book that might help improve your project communications:
Audience first. Plan your communication ahead of time, whether it is an email, an agenda, or speech. Focus on ONE person and ONE thing you want them to remember. Then write like a human, with no jargon or big fancy words.
Don’t bury the lede. Put the main message up front, then follow with more detail for those who want to dive deeper.
Focus on you. Our tendency is to use crutches like notes, slide decks, handouts (or even teleprompters for video recordings) but these crutches take the focus off you. If you haven’t honed your message enough to go it alone, you haven’t honed your message enough.
Other things in this book may help you communicate better through newsletters, presentations, and social media. But the reason I like Substack is because I can read the long form and dive deep into a subject. So, let this be my shortest post for now—next time I am experimenting with something longer.
Great advice thank you, I would like to add a fourth point, Be Credible.
For example asking people to go net zero and accept high energy prices while you fly at the taxpayers expense to Dubai to attend a climate conference.
This would make the message less welcome.