Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Here’s What I Think – I talk too much.

I know this. If you know me, you know this. If you are married to me, you REALLY know this.

And so my husband bought me the book Smart Brevity as a surprise because he knows I love Mike Allen and he knows I want to be a writer. Gutsy move for a husband to give his wife a book about the Power of Saying More with Less!

Why It Matters: Attention Spans are Short

In today’s fast-paced world, our attention spans have become shorter, and the ability to convey ideas succinctly has become a vital skill. It is an ability I do not currently possess.

As a late-diagnosed neurodivergent woman, I’ve faced challenges in writing and speaking concisely, which has hindered my ability to communicate effectively in both my personal and professional life. I frequently feel the need to preface my communications with the words of Blaise Pascal, “I apologize for the length of this letter; I didn’t have time to write a short one”

I am practicing my writing on Medium by posting daily about whatever interests me and then selecting posts to publish on my blog. By using Medium as a platform to practice writing within the framework of “Smart Brevity” by Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen, and Roy Schwartz, I aim to hone my skills and make my ideas more accessible to a broader audience.

The Message: ChatGPT, a powerful AI language model, is my tool of choice to help me organize my thoughts into a consistent format.

By providing a custom prompt, I can effectively structure my writing while maintaining the essence of my message.

I created a prompt using ChatGPT where I can freely write what I want to say in as many words as it takes for me to convey my message. I then ask ChatGPT to organize MY writing and MY words into the format I desire and remove the fluff.

Here are the key aspects of using ChatGPT in this process:

1. Personal Growth: By practicing the principles of Smart Brevity, I can improve not only my writing skills but also enhance my communication in other areas of life.
2. Adapting to the Audience: As people increasingly prefer short-form content, mastering brevity enables me to connect with a wider audience and make my ideas more impactful.
3. ChatGPT as a Writing Companion: The AI model provides valuable assistance in organizing and structuring my thoughts, ultimately helping me achieve my goal of writing more concisely while still maintaining my own voice and message.

My Final Thought: A Quest for Less

Embracing the power of Smart Brevity and utilizing ChatGPT as a writing companion can transform the way I communicate, allowing me to share my insights with the world more effectively.

Join me on this journey by following my progress here and on Medium, and let’s learn the art of saying more with less together.

Dear Nora,

I wanted to write to you today to talk about something that I think might be helpful for us in our daily life – the concept of smart brevity.

As someone who also struggles with processing language, I understand how frustrating it can be when our message gets lost in a sea of words. Sometimes, we feel like we need to use more words to make sure people understand what we’re trying to say, but that can actually have the opposite effect.

Smart brevity is all about saying more with less words. It’s about finding the most concise and impactful way to communicate our message, so that people can understand us better. This is especially important in today’s fast-paced world, where attention spans are getting shorter.

One way that I’ve been working on using less words to say more is through a book called “Smart Brevity” by Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen, and Roy Schwartz. They provide a framework for communicating effectively in a concise way, without losing the essence of our message.

But there’s another tool that I’ve been using to help you with this – it’s called ChatGPT. It’s an AI language model that can help me organize my thoughts and communicate more effectively. I created a custom prompt where I ask ChatGPT to decipher the messages you send me. I ask you to tell me your message in as many words as it takes for me to convey your message, and then ask ChatGPT to remove any fluff and restructure your words into a more concise format.

I think this concept of smart brevity could be really helpful for you, especially with your auditory processing disorder. It might take some practice and patience, but I believe that with time and effort, we can learn to communicate our message more effectively and clearly.

Remember, it’s not about how many words we use, it’s about making sure that our message is understood. I hope this helps, and please don’t hesitate to reach out if you want to talk more about this.

With love,

Auntie Paige