How to Do Better Business Communication: Write Short

Founded in 2016 by former Politico journalists, Axios has taken the news media by storm. Their secret? Brevity.

What do they do: Axios made waves with their email newsletters that quickly recapped news. But it’s all about their style: Short copy, bulleted lists, straight to the point.

Why it matters: People have short attention spans. If you can deliver vital information quickly, you’ll be a hero. And it’s not just about delivering the day’s news. Business communication is better when it’s brief.

Imagine Brevity in Action 

How often is business communication bloated and verbose? 

  • The problem: It’s packed with prose no one can parse, it’s flooded with acronyms, and it’s oh so stuffy. 

  • The fallout: All of that leads to confusion, and—worst of all—inaction.

  • The solution: If your business could communicate more clearly, you’d be more efficient, make better connections, and do more business.

How to Do It

So how does your business actually break the bad habits and embrace brevity?

  • Short: Of course it starts with being brief. Write short, punchy sentences that get to the point. Don’t drone on and on and on. 

  • Break it up: No one’s going to read a densely packed email, so break it up. Chop that meaty paragraph into bullet points. Add bold headers for each section.

  • Emphasize action: What do you want people to do? Make sure the ask is direct and upfront. 

  • Be consistent: A key to making this approach work is a predictable cadence and template. Do it consistently and follow the same format. 

This approach works for any written medium, but it can also help with meetings, presentations, visuals, and more.

Learn more

The Axios founders wrote a book explaining their approach, Smart Brevity: The Power of Saying More With Less. 

  • Quick read: A book sounds like the opposite of brief, but it’s a short book you could read in under two hours. 

  • Perfect example: Even better, it perfectly exemplifies their style. Short chapters, bulleted lists, bold headings. 

  • Business specific: It also has a series of chapters focused on business tasks—how to be brief in emails, meetings, speeches, and more.

David Lundy