“Clarity isn’t just about being understood. It’s about knowing what you actually mean.”
Hey Rollers,
Get to the point.
Less is more.
Brevity.
Being someone who communicates for a living – through workshops, coaching sessions, keynotes, and writing – this topic is often on my mind.
It came up again this week when I came across a quote by advertising legend David Ogilvy:
“The longer your memos, the less likely they are to be read by men who have the power to act on them.”
And the whole point of communication is to inspire action, right?
The action of curious questions.
The action of reflection.
The action of change.
The action of getting up and doing something.
When we overload others with words, detail, or data, we don’t clarify – we camouflage.
The more we say, the less people hear.
But let’s pause here for a second.
It’s not just how we communicate outwards that matters.
It’s how we communicate inwards as well.
Because cluttered communication starts with cluttered thinking. And this, friends, leads to clunky action.
How often do we hide behind complexity when talking to ourselves?
We write long internal memos full of excuses, over-explaining why we can’t, shouldn’t, or aren’t ready yet.
What if we practiced brevity there too?
Instead of:
“I’ll start once things calm down a bit.”
We just said:
”Start.”
Instead of:
“I need to work on my consistency.”
We said:
”Show up.”
Brevity is a form of Smart Toughness.
It strips away the story and leaves you with the truth.
Explain less.
Act more.
Until next week.
Keep rolling.
Justin 👊
Take Action in 3 Minutes:
Do a Brevity Check:
👉 Where are you over-explaining (to others or to yourself)?
– An email that needs half the words?
– A decision that needs one?
– A goal that needs fewer “whens” and more “whats”?
Rewrite one thing today – shorter, simpler, clearer.