Concise communication can be much more impactful than long, detailed bodies of information. I have always felt that the best songwriters can say more in three minutes than many novelists. I remember trying to read Pierre Berton's books "The National Dream" and "The Last Spike" when I was a teenager. I got halfway through the first book, which tells the story of the building of the Canadian railway, before I realized that I already knew the story quite well from Gordon Lightfoot's "Canadian Railroad Trilogy." In less than seven minutes, Lightfoot had painted a vivid, emotional picture of the building of Canada's cross-country railroad, and he told the story so well that Berton's book seemed much less vibrant. I never finished either book - it was retelling a story I already knew, and the story wasn't being told as well (and I really like Berton's writing style).
I'm currently reading Nicholas Jennings' biography "Lightfoot," and funny enough, Jennings quotes Pierre Berton about "Canadian Railroad Trilogy." Berton apparently told Lightfoot "You did more good with your damn song than I did with my entire book on the same subject." I like that he said "you did more good." That's what well-told stories should do - make things better, if only in tiny ways.
Well-written, concise communication can cut through clutter and get to the heart of an issue - and it's usually true that less can be much, much more.
