Brief by McCormack, Joseph -- Read -- Imperial Library of Trantor

Index

Cover Title Page Copyright Dedication Foreword Acknowledgments Preface Part One: Awareness: Heightened Awareness in a World Begging for BRIEF

Chapter 1: Why Brevity Is Vital

Get to the Point or Pay the Price Executive—Interrupted 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 2: Mindful of Mind-filled-ness

Brevity Is Like an Instant Stress Release Battling Overcapacity 1. Information Inundation—The Water's Rising 2. Inattention—The Muscle Is Weakening 3. Interruption—The Rate Is Alarming 4. Impatience—The Ice Is Thinning What Does It All Mean? Your New Reality: There's No Time for a Slow Buildup Test Yourself Examination of Brevity A New Professional Standard Notes

Chapter 3: 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 4: The Big Bang of Brevity

A Success Story

Part Two: Discipline: How to Gain Discipline to Be Clear and Concise

Chapter 5: Mental Muscle Memory to Master Brevity

The Exercise of Brevity

Chapter 6: Map It: From Mind Mapping to BRIEF Maps

Your 11th Grade English Teacher Was Right An Outline Is Missing, and So Is the Sale Mind Mapping and the Modern Outline BRIEF Maps: A Practical Tool for 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 BRIEF Maps: What's the Payoff? Notes

Chapter 7: Tell It: The Role of Narratives

Chapter 8: 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 9: 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 Notes

Chapter 10: Putting Brevity to Work: Grainger and the Al and Betty Story

Notes

Part Three: Decisiveness: Gaining the Decisiveness to Know When and Where to Be Brief

Chapter 11: Meeting You Halfway

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 Notes

Chapter 12: Leaving a Smaller Digital Imprint

The Digital Flood BRIEF Hall of Fame: Verne Harnish From Social Media to Venture Capital Social Media Squeeze Notes

Chapter 13: Presenting a Briefer Case

Practicing What You Preach The Discipline of Brevity Putting the Power Back in PowerPoint Training as a TED Talk

Chapter 14: Trimming Your Sales (Pitch)

Shut Up and Sell Billboard on a Bumper Sticker Time to Be Convincing and Concise Cut to the Customer's Chase

Chapter 15: 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

Chapter 16: It's Never Really Small Talk

Brevity as a Conversational Life Raft Momentary Misgivings Stall Momentum Walk the Walk; Talk the Talk

Chapter 17: Help Wanted: Master of Brevity

Not the Time for Anxious Rambling Let Others Lead the Conversation Talking Your Way out of a Job Offer For the Candidate: For the Interviewer:

Chapter 18: 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 19: 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 20: Got-a-Minute Updates

The “Say-Do” Ratio Be Prepared to Be Lean and Drive Out Wasteful Words The Most Important Question: Why Am I Here?

Part Four: Being BRIEF Summary and Action Plan Resources About the Author Index