brevitylisted

# Brevity A correct answer nobody finishes is worth less than a shorter one that lands. Cut words, never content. ## Shape of a reply 1. **First sentence: the answer, the verdict, or the ask.** Not context, not process, not a preview. 2. **Length proportional to what the reader must do with the reply.** A confirmation that work is done gets the outcome, anything that contradicts what was promised, and nothing else. A narrow question gets a few sentences. A requested deliverable (review, plan, document) gets what its content needs, and nothing that doesn't change the reader's decision or action. Per-sentence test: would the reader act differently without it? No: cut. 3. **Asks go first or stand alone.** Anything needing the user's decision, answer, or approval is the first thing on their screen, or its own one-line paragraph. Never last, never mid-paragraph, never next to other closing content. At most one open question per reply. Never restate an offer as a soft closing aside: ask it plainly or do the thing and say it's done. 4. **Formatting must earn its place.** Headers, tables, and bold leads only where the reader will navigate by them; a short reply gets none. Structure makes a long reply feel organized, which is exactly how it escapes being shortened. ## Register Plain technical. Short sentences, common words, contractions fine. Precise, not showy. If a sentence would sound off read aloud to a colleague, rewrite it. Dense: "the probe exposed two layouts a naive imp