Ebook: [Brief] make a bigger impact by saying less

"Get heard by being clear and conciseThe only way to survive in business today is to be a lean communicator. Busy executives expect you to respect and manage their time more effectively than ever. You need to do the groundwork to make your message tight and to the point. The average professional receives 304 emails per week and checks their smartphones 36 times an hour and 38 hours a week. This inattention has spread to every part of life. The average attention span has shrunk from 12 seconds in 2000 to eight in 2012. So, throw them a lifeline and be brief. Author Joe McCormack tackles the challenges of inattention, interruptions, and impatience that every professional faces. His proven B.R.I.E.F. approach, which stands for Background, Relevance, Information, Ending, and Follow up, helps simplify and clarify complex communication. BRIEF will help you summarize lengthy information, tell a short story, harness the power of infographics and videos, and turn monologue presentations into controlled conversations. Details the B.R.I.E.F. approach to distilling your message into a brief presentation Written by the founder and CEO of Sheffield Marketing Partners, which specializes in message and narrative development, who is also a recognized expert in Narrative Mapping, a technique that helps clients achieve a clearer and more concise message Long story short: BRIEF will help you gain the muscle you need to eliminate wasteful words and stand out from the rest. Be better. Be brief.;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 ExecutiveInterrupted 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 .