Brief Quotes

“Long story, short. Professionals mistakenly abandon outlines, but a BRIEF Map is a new visual outlining tool that prepares you to be succinct.”
― Joseph McCormack, Brief: Make a Bigger Impact by Saying Less

“Every BRIEF Map is organized in the following way: B: Background or beginning R: Reason or relevance I: Information for inclusion E: Ending or conclusion F: Follow-up or questions you expect to be asked or that you might ask”
― Joseph McCormack, Brief: Make a Bigger Impact by Saying Less

“Five immediate benefits to outlining are they keep you: Prepared: I'm ready to deliver. Organized: I understand how all my ideas connect. Clear: I'm certain what my point is. Contextual: I can draw a bigger picture so my point stands out. Confident: I know what to say, inside and out.”
― Joseph McCormack, Brief: Make a Bigger Impact by Saying Less

“From those workshops, key considerations of a great story emerged: Strong headline Compelling lead paragraph Clear sense of conflict Personal voice Consistent narrative thread Logical sequence of events Character development Powerful conclusion”
― Joseph McCormack, Brief: Make a Bigger Impact by Saying Less

“Your leadership team doesn't know what to do with your assessment and guidance and subconsciously starts questioning your leadership ability. “What is your recommendation or plan of attack?” they wonder. When someone who is braver and clearer steps up, you're history.”
― Joseph McCormack, Brief: Make a Bigger Impact by Saying Less

“We're also interrupting ourselves. You've likely been working on a difficult task when something easier or more engaging competes for your attention. Naturally, we feel like doing that instead.”
― Joseph McCormack, Brief: Make a Bigger Impact by Saying Less

“To be brief doesn't just mean being concise. Your responsibility is to balance how long it takes to convey a message well enough to cause a person to act on it. That's the harmony of brevity when it's striking the right chords.”
― Joseph McCormack, Brief: Make a Bigger Impact by Saying Less

“It's not about using the least amount of time. It's about making the most of the time you have.”
― Joseph McCormack, Brief: Make a Bigger Impact by Saying Less

“It's a balancing act of being concise, clear, and compelling. All three need to be in harmony.”
― Joseph McCormack, Brief: Make a Bigger Impact by Saying Less