Guided session · Communicating · About 12 minutes
The One-Page Brief
You know why your request matters. Your reader has two minutes, three other requests and none of your context. This session teaches one structure for writing to a busy reader, shows the research behind it, and then walks you through writing your own brief. You finish with a page you can print or paste into an email.
The research behind this session
Sources
- The curse of knowledge. Camerer, C., Loewenstein, G. and Weber, M. (1989). “The curse of knowledge in economic settings: an experimental analysis.” Journal of Political Economy, 97(5), 1232–1254.
- The tapping study. Newton, E. (1990). The rocky road from actions to intentions. Doctoral dissertation, Stanford University. Described in Heath, C. and Heath, D. (2007). Made to Stick. Random House.
- The Pyramid Principle. Minto, B. (1987). The Pyramid Principle: Logic in Writing and Thinking. Pitman.
- How people read on screens. Nielsen, J. (1997). “How users read on the web.” Nielsen Norman Group.
- How much a reader can hold in mind. Cowan, N. (2001). “The magical number 4 in short-term memory: a reconsideration of mental storage capacity.” Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 24(1), 87–114.
- Plain words. Oppenheimer, D. M. (2006). “Consequences of erudite vernacular utilized irrespective of necessity: problems with using long words needlessly.” Applied Cognitive Psychology, 20(2), 139–156.
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