Brevity, Clarity, Compassion: 3 Goals for Any Communication

As writers and speakers, bloggers and bosses, we often hear that we should “keep it short” and “KISS,  Keep it simple, stupid.” However, here’s an alternative:

1. Keep it brief. Work at concision.
2. Make it clear.
3. Be compassionate. Use empathy in your communications. Address your audience as “you” and communicate to them.

These 3 goals work together to create powerful communications.

Unedited writing and off-the-cuff presentations or speeches are often long-winded and unfocussed—the “brain dumps” that serve no one. The audience is left wondering “What are you getting at?” “So…?” and “What do you want? from whom? by when?”

Questions for Brevity, Clarity, Compassion

To help yourself make communications clearer, review your thoughts, notes, or drafts with the questions “How can I make this briefer?” and “What’s the point?”

Highlighting notes for the key points will help you refine your communication to get to the point faster and better. However, asking “Is this clear for my audience? Why or why not?” “Does it talk down to them?” “Does it simply talk at them?” “Do they have the background knowledge to make sense of this?” “Why does this matter for the audience?” and “What action do I want the audience to take and how can I help that happen?” are all questions that will help you connect with your audience—in other words, communicate with them, taking their needs into account as well as your own. I call this communicating compassionately.

Results

Compassion is sympathetic and empathetic. In communication, compassion is not false sweetness or manipulating platitudes. Compassion in communication answers the audience’s questions: “What’s in it for me?” “Why should I care?” and “Why does this matter more than the 1000 other things needing my attention now?” Adding compassion to brevity and clarity can add words, but makes for a clear, targeted, results-oriented communication.

(Updated January 31, 2025; originally published January 15, 2010.)