The Lifehacker article “Remember ‘BRIEF’ for Efficient Office Communication” outlines a mnemonic for writing correspondence and presentations that include just the right amount of information for the audience and purpose. The idea is explained fully in the book Brief: Make a Bigger Impact by Saying Less by Joseph McCormack, the founder and CEO of Sheffield Marketing Partners. (The full text of the ebook is available through the Tech library with your login.)

Neolithic, a commenter on the Lifehacker post, argues that another mnemonic, SBAR, is more effective. The SBAR system was developed by U.S. Navy personnel working on nuclear submarines. As explained in Stewart and Hand’s “SBAR, Communication, and Patient Safety: An Integrated Literature Review,” “Employed primarily in high-risk situations of the Navy's nuclear submarine industry, the SBAR communication tool enabled all users, regardless of the level of command, to communicate via a common structure.”

For your comment, compare the two mnemonics and explain which would make the better choice for someone in your field. As you examine the two options, think not only about the logistics of how they work but also the details on how they were created (one in marketing and the other by the military).

If you read any of the linked background information, incorporate what you find as well. Further, you can suggest an alternative system for writing effective correspondence if you have one.

 

Image Description: 2005 photo of a dry docked nuclear submarine. The photographer’s description explains, The U.S. Navy’s newest and most advanced nuclear attack submarine, Virginia (SSN774), is moved outdoors for the first time at General Dynamics Electric Boat in Groton, Conn., in this Aug. 2, 2003, photo. With a length of 377 feet, a beam of 34 feet and a displacement of 7,800 tons, the Virginia is the first U.S. submarine designed to satisfy the requirements of regional and near-land missions in the post-Cold War era.

Photo credit: SSN774 Virginia rollout by Marion Doss on Flickr, used under a CC-BY-SA 2.0 license