Brief: make a bigger impact by saying less

Machine generated contents note: Foreword ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS PREFACE Introduction PART ONE Awareness Heightened Awareness in a World Begging for BRIEF CHAPTER ONE Why Brevity is Vital Get to the point or pay the price Executive

Interrupted Who's responsible for adapting when the message is not being heard? Timing is of the essence BRIEF Balance: The harmony of clear, concise, and compelling A BRIEF Timeout CHAPTER TWO Mindful of Mind-filled-ness Brevity is like an instant stress release The flood 1. Information inundation

the water's rising 2. Inattention

the muscle is weakening 3. Interruption

the rate is alarming 4. Imatience

the ice is thinning What does it all mean? Your new reality: There's no time for a slow build up Test yourself Examination of brevity A new professional standard CHAPTER THREE Why You Struggle With Brevity: The Seven Capital Sins Why is it so difficult? 1. Cowardice 2. Confidence 3. Callousness 4. Comfort 5. Confusion 6. Complication: 7. Carelessness: CHAPTER FOUR The Big Bang of Brevity A success story PART TWO Discipline How to Gain Discipline to be Clear and Concise CHAPTER FIVE Mental Muscle Memory to Master Brevity The exercise of brevity CHAPTER SIX Map It: From Mind Mapping to BRIEF Maps Your 11th-grade English teacher was right Excuse to impact ratio An outline is missing, and so is the sale Mind mapping and the modern outline BRIEF Maps: A practical tool to delivering brevity How a BRIEF Map can be used Wrong Approach: Bob chooses to share but not to prepare. Right Approach: Bob prepares a BRIEF Map and maintains executive support. Step 1: Build a BRIEF Box Step 2: B, or the Background/Beginning Step 3: R, or Reason/Relevance Step 4: I, or key Information Step 5: E, or intended Ending Step 6: F, expected Follow-up questions Result: A successful update BRIEF Maps: What's the payoff? CHAPTER SEVEN Tell it: The Role of Narratives I'm tired of meaningless and meandering corporate jargon. I'm ready for a good story. Where's the disconnect? When a story is missing. The birth of Narrative Mapping: A way to organize and deliver your story Rediscovery of narratives and storytelling: breaking through the blah, blah, blah Listen, I'm ready for a story Think about your audience: Journalism 2.0 and the elements of a narrative Warning #1: Keep stories short Warning #2: Don't fall in love with fables and the "Once Upon A Time" trap Warning #3: Don't just promote storytelling; teach it Narrative Map (de)constructed Seeing and hearing is believing: The story of the evolution of commerce CHAPTER EIGHT Talk it: Controlled Conversations and TALC Tracks Risky business trip Controlled conversations are a game of tennis, not golf TALC Tracks

A structure for balance and brevity Be prepared for anything Audience, Audience, Audience. CHAPTER NINE Show It: Powerful Ways to Make a Picture Exceed a Thousand Words Show and Tell: which would you choose? You can see the shift Seeing supersedes reading A visual language Connect an image with your story Momentary magic: Infographics in business Breakdown of complex information The age of YouTube and business TL;DR: Too Long; Didn't Read CHAPTER TEN Putting Brevity to Work: Grainger and the Al and Betty Story PART THREE Decisiveness Gaining the decisiveness to know when and where to be brief CHAPTER ELEVEN Meeting You Half-Way Defeat the villains of meetings Meeting villain #1: Time Meeting villain #2: Type Meeting villain #3: Tyrants Change the format and tone

make it a conversation Put brief back into a briefing Long story, short. CHAPTER TWELVE Leaving a Smaller Digital Imprint The digital flood BRIEF Hall of Fame: Verne Harnish From social media to venture capital Social Media Squeeze Long story, short. CHAPTER THIRTEEN Presenting a Briefer Case Practicing what you preach The discipline of brevity Putting the power back in PowerPoint Training like a TED Talk CHAPTER FOURTEEN Trimming Your Sales (Pitch) Shut up and sell Billboard on a bumper sticker Cut to the customer's chase Long story, short. CHAPTER FIFTEEN Whose Bright Idea Was That Anyway? Your big idea A mission-critical narrative Clear picture with radical focus The entrepreneur's dilemma: mixed messages Tailor your pitch to your investor's needs Long story, short. CHAPTER SIXTEEN It's Never Really Small Talk Brevity as a conversational life raft Momentary misgivings stall momentum Walk the walk, talk the talk Long story, short. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN Help Wanted: Master of Brevity Not the time for anxious rambling Let others lead the conversation Talking your way out of a job offer Long story, short. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN I've Got Some Good News Pay the favor of brevity forward Let the brilliance shine through Speak the language of success Get into the habit of saying thank you CHAPTER NINETEEN And the Bad News Is... The bright (and brief) side of bearing bad news Give it to them straight Serving up the s#&$ sandwich CHAPTER TWENTY Got-A-Minute Updates The "say-do" ratio The most important question: Why am I here? PART FOUR Being BRIEF Summary and Action Plan Resources CITATIONS AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY .