It’s a snow day in the South, so why not make another Shakespeare poster?
Following tradition, this one is out of context but evergreen and ever-true!
Brevity, indeed, is the soul of wit.
Have you read Smart Brevity by Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen, and Roy Schwartz? Fascinating book.
The team is responsible for Politico and, more recently, Axios. In Smart Brevity, they spill the secrets of how to write for brains shaped by the internet. I tried using the Smart Brevity format in work emails. The results were amazing. In just a couple of weeks, people were replying to me in the same format. It is wild!
To every good thing, though, there’s a caveat. The book is a long infomercial for their Smart Brevity AI tool, Axios HQ. I spent the whole [quick] read swinging between “THIS IS AWESOME” and “BLECH.”
There is allegedly a sign hanging on the wall at Axios that says, “Brevity is confidence. Length is fear.” That statement is true, and I love it. But I’m also betting it’s copyrighted, so… for now…
Let’s download and print some Public Domain Shakespeare: Brevity is the soul of wit.
Also… what the what with Act 2, scene 2 of Hamlet, Will?! So many gems!
Always Learning HQ 