Is Brevity Rude?

Brevity is the diction of command - Paul Graham

A lot of people say more than needs to be said. Myself included. In fact, it’s a habit I’m working to flush out of my own speaking.

Not public speaking in the traditional sense, but in formalised conversation. It’s the conversations you have with your project teams, or your teammates. It’s those conversations intended to deliver specific titbits of information with a goal or action in mind.

Brevity can be associated with rudeness. Indeed, to be short with someone is to be rude. But brevity is something else.

Brevity offers clarity and conclusion. Brevity gives the listener the chance to decide if they want to hear more and look beneath the surface.

That’s why we have book summaries and apps like Blinkist. They give you the big ideas -succinctly - so you can decide if going deeper is worth the investment.

Most of us recognise the value in going deep. And offering depth reinforces your understanding of a subject. It differentiates you from the many who toil in shallowness of thought and attention.

That said, that offer of depth becomes more valuable as exactly that – an offer instead of an imposition. 

As far as attention goes – sometimes the best way to hold it is to ask for only a little to begin with.