Quotes About Conciseness

The best instruction is that which uses the least words sufficient for the task.

I would have written a shorter letter, but I did not have the time.

A specification that will not fit on one page of 8.5x11 inch paper cannot be understood.

Here are the three keys: Get in (quickly and efficiently describe the issue), neutralize the problem (by explaining how to handle it or why it isn't really a problem), and get out (move on to the next topic —do not linger or go into excess detail). Here's an example.

Some people speak a lot, but have very little to say. Some people speak very little, but have very much to say.

In general, simple is better than complex, explicit is better than implicit, and full statements are better than arcane expressions.

The proper proportions of a maxim: a minimum of sound to a maximum of sense.

Now listen, guuuyyysss! Come on guys. Let's all, come on, let's be simple about this.

If you don't have it in your part, leave it out, because there is enough missing already.

My goal is to simplify complexity.

Afterism (n) - A concise, clever statement you don't think of until too late.

No woman answereth an important question in less than eleven score words.

When a thought is too weak to be expressed simply, simply drop it.

For diagrams comprehensiveness is the enemy of comprehensibility.

in interaction diagrams], comprehensiveness is the enemy of comprehensibility.

The fewer the words, the better the prayer.

Life is too short for a long story.

In an aphorism, aptness counts for more than truth

A ver short chapter with a long title, in which not very much happens.

The longer and the deeper the thought, the shorter the sentence of wisdom will be.

No words are too good for the cutting-room floor, no idea so fine that it cannot be phrased more succinctly.

With each passing year, one has less to say, and knows better how to say it.

Every word you add dilutes the sentence.

Big books are old fashioned. Now we focus on quality rather than quantity.