Jack Webb, the no-nonsense cop on TV’s long-running show Dragnet, created the character Joe Friday and memorable lines such as “Just the facts ma’am.” Joe Friday wasn’t interested in opinion or conjecture; he needed the facts to solve the crime. When and how a communicator uses information – data, research, statistics, etc. – is not simple.

“Small is Beautiful” became a catch-phrase for environmentalists in the 1970s, made popular by the influential book Small is Beautiful: A Study of Economics As If People Mattered, written by E.F. Schumacher. When it comes to effective communications in 2021 and beyond, I think “short is beautiful” is a must technique for communicators.