Capturing people’s attention and gaining their buy-in requires being succinct. It’s becoming even more important as people are under an information siege. Known for its love of acronyms, the military often uses BLUF, which is an acronym for Bottom Line Up Front, and guides us to be concise. For example, when you are writing an email, start by telling people your purpose right up front. Otherwise, you might get a response of TLDR (Too Long, Didn’t Read). This is true, not only when writing, but when speaking, in voicemails, and on social media. There are three things to consider when you BLUF: 1) Can you name the topic in one or two sentences? If you can’t, chances are others will be lost. 2) What’s the most important and relevant background to the topic? We tend to share way more than is needed and swamp the audience. 3) What are you asking for—a decision, resources, how to communicate something, risks you might be missing, even a chance to vent? Be clear about what you are asking for.
It takes time to be succinct. Mark Twain said, “I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.”