Our secret sauce for better communication

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Our secret sauce for better communication

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios Our new book, "," lays out what the data, science — and our own experience — show about how to be heard on what matters most to you. Why it matters: We see, up close, how many people and organizations are blowing the chance to retool their communications for this era of distraction.Smart Brevity is the art of speaking and writing more efficiently and effectively. It's how I write , our nightly newsletter on wellness and leadership tips and tricks, lead our people, and run our company. It works — and can be taught. Our book teaches it, piece by piece, in a quick, 100-minute read. We didn't write this for journalists (outside of Axios). In fact, most of them will probably hate it — it argues they should stop being long-winded and meandering.Instead, it's for students, teachers, workers and leaders — anyone struggling to be heard in these noisy times. If you think I'm nuts, let these stats soak in:The University of Maryland did extensive studies of how people read on social media, in school and in business — and found we spend 26 seconds, on average, on things we choose to read!We check our phones an average of 260+ times each day, according to a Review.org study. If you're shaking your head, I dare you to count your own glances.Most of what you share on social media, you didn't even read, according to our internal data at Axios. Think about that: We see a photo or headline — and get such a dopamine jolt that we just hit "share" like mindless lemmings.Gallup found that 70% of employees want shorter communications at work. Despite all that, most people in schools, companies and other organizations communicate like it's 1990 — when people had more time and fewer choices. Reality check: Most people don't — and won't — read most of what you write (if any of it). It's true for you, for me, for everyone. But you can vastly increase your chances of being read or heard if you adapt — fast. If you enjoy getting Axios for free, . All the proceeds go to the Axios Fellowship Program, which funds yearlong, paid positions in our newsroom for early-career journalists from underrepresented backgrounds.

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