Conciseness and Brevity Techniques

In my 14yrs career in engineering working for Big Tech companies such as Google and Uber, there is no other skill I used more than writing. And no, I don’t mean writing code. I mean English writing. Emails, Design Docs, Presentations, Feedback, Code Reviews, you name it. Here's how I make my written communication clear, effective, and punchy. 👇 Written communication can sometimes be daunting, especially for non-native speakers—like me. That’s why I wanted to share  the 6 questions that I use when writing anything. This helps me communicate more effectively and connect with my audience better. 1. Who is my target audience? Identify the specific group or individuals you are speaking to. Knowing your audience assists you in customizing your writing to meet their requirements and interests. 2. What is my main objective or purpose? Clarify the primary goal of your writing. Whether it's to inform, persuade, entertain, or educate, knowing your objective guides your content. 3. What key points do I want to convey? Identify the main idea or key points you want to communicate. This will help you stay focused and make sure your message is clear and logical. 4. Why should the reader care about this? Consider the value or benefit your writing offers to the reader. Highlight how it addresses their needs or solves a problem. 5. Is my writing clear, concise, and organized? Make sure your content is clear and easy to understand. Keep the flow logical and avoid using complex language or jargon that might confuse the reader. 6. Can I make my writing shorter? The answer is always yes. So make sure to edit edit edit. Brevity saves time for both the writer and the reader. What else would you add to this list? How does your writing process look like? ♻️ Please repost if you found this useful

No one is waking up at 7am, sipping coffee, thinking, “Wow, I really hope someone explains holistic wealth architecture today.” People want clarity. They want content that feels like a conversation, not a lecture. They want to understand what you’re saying the first time they read it. Write like you're talking to a real person. Not trying to win a Pulitzer. - Use short sentences. - Cut the jargon. - Sound like someone they’d trust with their money, not someone who spends weekends writing whitepapers for fun. Confused clients don’t ask for clarification. They move on. Here’s how to make your content clearer: 1. Ask yourself: Would my mom understand this? If the answer is “probably not,” simplify it until she would. No shade to your mom, she’s just a great clarity filter. 2. Use the “friend test.” Read it out loud. If it sounds weird or overly stiff, imagine explaining it to a friend at lunch. Rewrite it like that. 3. Replace jargon with real words. Say “retirement income you won’t outlive” instead of “longevity risk mitigation strategy.” Your clients are not Googling your vocabulary. 4. Stick to one idea per sentence. If your sentence is doing cartwheels and dragging a comma parade behind it, break it up. 5. Format like you actually want them to read it. Use line breaks. Add white space. Make it skimmable. No one wants to read a block of text the size of a mortgage document. Writing clearly isn’t dumbing it down. It’s respecting your audience enough to make content easy to understand. What’s the worst jargon-filled phrase you’ve seen in the wild? Let’s roast it.

The cold email system that books 22 VC meetings from 100 sends Last week we sent 427 emails to VCs. 89 responded. 22 booked meetings. That's a 20.8% response rate when the industry average is 3%. Here's exactly what we do differently: We don't send pitch decks. We send investor briefs. Most founders attach 20-slide decks. VCs don't open attachments from strangers. They scan emails for 37 seconds. Our emails? 4 paragraphs. 237 words. Zero attachments. The subject line formula that gets 68% open rates: "[Specific metric] + [timeframe] + [what you do in 5 words]" Real examples: "43% gross margins at $67K MRR, B2B logistics SaaS" "12-month runway, 2.3x LTV:CAC, developer tools" "Ex-Stripe team, 6 enterprise LOIs, API infrastructure" The 4-paragraph structure: Paragraph 1: The proof "Hi [Name], we help [customer] achieve [outcome]. We're at [revenue] growing [rate] with [metric]." Paragraph 2: The credibility "Team includes [background] with [expertise]. Backed by [investor] and [advisor]." Paragraph 3: The traction "Current metrics: [MRR] (up from [amount] in [timeframe]). [Efficiency metric]. [Runway]." Paragraph 4: The ask "Are you actively investing in [stage] [vertical] companies?" What most founders get wrong: They write novels. VCs get 200+ emails weekly. Brevity wins. They bury metrics. Numbers in sentence two, not paragraph four. They ask for meetings. We ask for interest. Meetings follow interest. They spray and pray. We send 80-100 targeted emails per week. The targeting strategy: Only email funds that: Invested in your vertical in last 12 months Have dry powder from current fund Made seed/Series A investments recently Have a partner who understands your space The follow-up sequence: Email 1: The brief (day 1) Email 2: New proof point (day 4) Email 3: Share specific win (day 10) Email 4: "Should I close your file?" (day 17) That fourth email? 31% response rate. Real results from last month: Client A: 94 emails → 19 responses → 5 meetings → 2 term sheets Client B: 112 emails → 23 responses → 7 meetings → 3 in diligence Client C: 87 emails → 17 responses → 4 meetings → 1 closed round Your pitch deck doesn't book meetings. Your process does. #Fundraising #VentureCapital #StartupFunding #ColdOutreach #FidelmanCo

Want to write like a CEO? Cut the fluff. The best leaders communicate with: ✅ Clarity ✅ Brevity ✅ Impact They don’t send long, rambling emails. They don’t hide behind corporate jargon. They get to the point fast. I have written four books and have advised 300+ CEOs on their communications. Here’s the 5-part writing framework top executives use: 1 – The Subject Line Should Say It All Before you write anything, ask: ➡️ What’s the ONE thing I need them to know? ➡️ What’s the ONE action I need them to take? If you can’t answer this, don’t send it yet. 2 – Lead with the Bottom Line Busy people don’t have time for long intros. 💡 Start with the main point, not the backstory. ❌ “Hope you’re doing well! I wanted to reach out because we’ve been working on…” ✅ “Here’s the update: [Key message in one line].” 3 – Cut the Fluff High-level executives don’t read wordy emails. They scan. ✂ Remove “just,” “I think,” and “wanted to.” ✅ “We should move forward.” ✅ “The results show a 20% increase.” 4 – Be Direct, Not Rude Great leaders are clear, not cold. 🚫 “Per our last discussion, I believe this approach might be beneficial.” ✅ “Let’s move forward with this approach. Thoughts?” 5 – Always End with a Clear Ask ❌ “Let me know what you think.” ✅ “Can you approve this by Thursday?” 6 – Add Warmth Charismatic people are both competent and warm. If you follow 1-5, you may come across as competent but it may be hard to connect. Therefore, add some warmth at the end. ❌ “Looking forward to your response.” ✅ “Appreciate your time on this—excited to hear your thoughts!” 📌 Follow me Oliver Aust for daily strategies on leadership communications.

When you're communicating, shoot for simple. Not simplistic. Albert Einstein famously said "if you can't explain something simply, you don't it well enough." Simple is clear, not clever. It's elegant. There are tons of ways to practice this. But this one is I'm going to share is my favorite. You've heard of it before, I'm sure: the Feynman technique. Here's how you do it. 1. Grab a piece of paper and write down a topic at the top. 2. Write whatever you know about the topic. 3. If you have a gap in your knowledge, that's okay. 4. Leave a space or put a question mark as a placeholder. 5. Underline anything you're shaky on. Come back to polish it later. But here's where your communication gets clear: Eliminate jargon. Replace jargon with an explanation of that concept in layman's terms. Spell out acronyms and abbreviations. For example, SDLC is the software development lifecycle. Simplify your sentences. Use active voice. Eliminate adverbs, adjectives, and gerunds. Remove compound sentences (using and, or, or but). For example, I coordinated a team of 10 people to complete a project. Keep lists to three items or less. For example, the tree main ingredients in bread are flour, yeast, and water. One subject and one verb per sentence. For example, Sam bought groceries. Now what you're going to say is easier to follow and easier to understand. Apply this to your LinkedIn profile, resume, and interview responses. You'll get better responses. -- 👋 Hi, I'm Jonathan. I help people in tech turn interviews into job offers. #techjobs #jobseekers #newgrads #students #interviewpreparation

Investors are flooded with outreach. That’s why brevity matters. What doesn’t work: 🚫 1,000-word messages in my inbox 🚫 Random links with expectations of me clicking them 🚫 Attachments from people I don't know 🚫 Decks with 60+ slides 🚫 Rambling intros that bury the point 🚫 Calendly links with no context 🚫 Lack of an actual, direct request/call-to-action What does work: ✅ A short intro with who you are, what you’re building, and your traction ✅ A clear ask ✅ Respect for my time Founders sometimes think being brief makes them sound “less serious.” It’s actually the opposite. Clarity shows me you understand your business. Brevity shows me you respect my time. Both make me more apt to move forward. Respecting time builds trust. And trust is what builds the relationship. ----- This week I will share some real DMs (redacted of course) and tell you why they don't work.

Most cold emails look like this 👇 (see the image) Relevant. Wordy. Full of “setup.” But the point gets buried. Here’s the same idea, trimmed: “Kim, with 3,000+ vehicles you’re likely using telematics. Most only log broad areas, not precise enough for city or county tax rates. Liberty used GPS-level precision to map exact positions to tax boundaries—saved $10M. Worth exploring?” Why it matters: Prospects don’t owe you their attention. Every extra word is a toll. The more concise and clear your email, the faster they see why it matters to them. Clarity + concise + relevance gets replies. Bloat gets ignored. Cut the fluff.

I’m currently helping an executive learn to be more concise. Especially during the Q&A portion after their presentation. Here are 3 tips I’ve shared that might be helpful to you — or someone on your team. REPLACE RAMBLING WITH RHYTHM Long sentences confuse things. Use shorter ones. Let them land. Like this. DITCH FILLER WORDS Instead of: “I was just kind of thinking we could push the deadline...” Say: “We should push the deadline by a week because….” Direct doesn’t mean rude. It means clear. STRUCTURE YOUR THOUGHTS: POINT – REASON – EXAMPLE Point: “We should pause the launch date.” Reason: “The testing revealed a security bug.” Example: “Last time we launched early, it cost us $250K.” Being concise isn’t necessarily about saying less. It’s about saying what matters. #PresentationSkills #CommunicationSkills #PublicSpeaking