Brevity is Your Ally

I’ve heard it stated in multiple ways and from countless sources, but I couldn’t agree more: if you can’t explain yourself in one sentence and have nearly any audience “get it” then your idea won’t be able to sell. Our busy work-a-day lifestyles can’t handle the tripe longevity that many think is required to be an authority. Plus, most people don’t like to read long dialogues.

The laziest people in the world just read the headlines, right behind those who read the shortest stories necessary. Here are some great historical examples of this:

1. The Gettysburg Address was so short, the photographer didn’t have time to snap a picture of Lincoln before he wandered off stage.
2. Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount included what is known as Beatitudes—a bunch of quick and easy to remember, but significant one-liners.
3. Confucius was famous for his one-liners.
4. Twitter says it best…in 140 characters or less.

In certain instances, however, the data doesn’t lie and even Winston Churchill’s famous “Never Give In” speech in 1941 was, in reality, much longer than it has often been purported to have been. Unfortunately, there are many instances when people think the mere fact that it is the longevity itself that creates the authority. I don’t fancy myself the most promulgated writer in the world, but I could have thousands of meaningless pages created on Fiverr with little to show for it. The real trick is, can you engage your intended audience with less?

Will decreasing the length of your message positively change the response rate (and thus the revenue generation) of your business? In some cases the answer may be yes. Provided you’re already running a fairly “scaled” site, it is wise to run a small series of A/B tests to ensure any supposed theories you may have are 100% correct. After doing so, if you can say it more briefly, do it! It is in that spirit that I end this post which is now currently approaching 300 words which is far too long!

Why Brevity Matters in Capital Markets Communication

The principle extends well beyond blog posts and social media. In investment banking and capital markets, the ability to communicate complex ideas concisely is a professional advantage. Buyers, lenders, and investors are time-constrained. A management team that can articulate its thesis—what the company does, why it wins, and what it needs—in a crisp executive summary commands more attention than one that buries the point in pages of qualifications.

Consider the materials that move deals forward: a well-crafted teaser is often a single page. A compelling executive summary leads a CIM before any buyer reads the body. A management presentation wins or loses in the first five slides. In each case, the discipline of brevity is not dumbing down—it is precision.

Practical Applications: Where Less Is Demonstrably More

• Investor outreach. When approaching potential investors, a concise, well-structured investor presentation that leads with the opportunity and quantifies the ask outperforms a sprawling narrative deck. Investors pattern-match quickly; give them the signal without the noise.
• Executive summaries in transaction documents. In a CIM or lender package, a tight two-page executive summary written for a busy reader will be read in full. A six-page summary will be skimmed—and your best points may be missed.
• Email communication with advisors and counterparties. Deals often turn on how quickly information flows. Concise, organized emails that answer the question asked—without appending every tangentially related thought—accelerate the process.
• Board and IC memos. Decision-makers in investment committee settings allocate limited reading time. A focused IC memo that leads with the recommendation and supports it efficiently is more persuasive than one that exhaustively hedges every point.

Brevity and Credibility Are Not at Odds

A common misconception is that brevity signals superficiality. In practice, the opposite is usually true. The ability to distill a complex situation into a clear, accurate summary demonstrates mastery. When a banker walks a client through a sophisticated valuation analysis in a fifteen-minute conversation—and the client leaves with a clear understanding of the key drivers—that is credibility in action.

This principle applies equally to the written word. If you are preparing materials for a transaction or studying how companies communicate around public offerings, the consistent lesson is that disciplined brevity earns attention while undisciplined length loses it.

The A/B Test Imperative

The observation about A/B testing deserves emphasis. Opinions about optimal content length are abundant; data from your specific audience is what actually matters. Before making sweeping changes to how your company or team communicates, test smaller variants and measure response rates. In the context of investor materials or marketing content for a business-to-business audience, even modest improvements in engagement—more replies to outreach, more requests for follow-up meetings—can translate directly into better outcomes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this principle apply to formal transaction documents like a CIM or lender package?

Yes, within the constraints of what buyers and lenders require. A CIM must cover specific content (financials, market, management, operations), but the prose within each section should be disciplined. Padding a CIM with redundant language or filler sections does not add credibility—it dilutes the signal. A well-organized, tightly written CIM reads as professional and confident.

How do you balance brevity with the need to convey complexity?

Structure is the answer. Complex information becomes navigable when it is organized logically—headlines that telegraph the point, short paragraphs that develop one idea, and appendices or data rooms for the detail that specialists need. The reader can then choose depth based on their role and interest. A guide to investment banking fundamentals offers a practical illustration of how layered structure serves different reader types.

Is there a word count that signals credibility in online content?

Research on content performance generally finds that longer, substantive articles outperform thin ones in search rankings and reader engagement—but length for its own sake does not. The relevant variable is whether every paragraph adds value. An 800-word article with no wasted sentences outperforms a 2,000-word article padded to hit a target.