Brevity: The Art of the Three-Sentence Conversation

We’ve all been there. You ask a coworker, "How was your weekend?" and suddenly you're an unwilling captive in a detailed, minute-by-minute recap of a two-day trip to a minor-league baseball game. Time seems to slow down. You find yourself nodding politely while your brain screams, "Get to the point!"

In a professional world that values efficiency, there seems to be a curious number of us who should join the self-help group "On and On Anon." We are all busy, and learning to communicate with clarity and conciseness isn’t just a nice-to-have skill—it's a critical one.

In my leadership workshops, we often revisit key improv principles like the "yes, and" and "fortunately, unfortunately" games to build creative and resilient teams. But a foundational skill that ties them all together is brevity. It’s the ability to get your message across without an unnecessary word.

This is where my favorite exercise, "The Three-Sentence Story," comes in.

A Simple Game with a Profound Impact

The game is simple, and it works like this: two people have a conversation where each person can only use one sentence at a time. The first person begins, the second person replies, and then the first person delivers the final sentence to wrap up the conversation.

It sounds easy, but it forces participants to be deliberate with their words. Here is an example:

Person 1: "I was a little disappointed with the project results last quarter."

Person 2: "I noticed, and I’m ready to talk through what went wrong and how we can improve."

Person 1: "Great, let's meet tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. to finalize a new strategy."

In just three sentences, you've gone from raising a concern to scheduling an actionable meeting. You've conveyed all the necessary information without an extended preamble or endless back-and-forth.

Any Simpsons fans out there?  Here is a hilarious example of someone NOT getting to the point. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yujF8AumiQo

The goal isn't just to be brief; it's to be meaningfully brief. You learn to listen more carefully and respond with purpose. This exercise highlights how we can glean a surprising amount of information and make progress in a very short amount of time, a skill that is valuable in any profession. It’s about focusing on the message, not the monologue. When you can communicate effectively and concisely, you show respect for your own time and the time of others.  I encourage your team to give this a try.  Make it a game where for an entire day you can only have three sentence conversations.  I bet you’ll be surprised at how efficient and honed your communication skills will become.

Ready to help your team get to the point and communicate more effectively? I work with organizations to provide tailored leadership training and workshops that use engaging, hands-on activities to build stronger, more efficient, and more collaborative teams.

Visit my website for more blog posts and information on how to bring Scott and his experiences into your workplace culture.