"Keep it short" is half a rule

"Keep it short" is half a rule

Popular advice: "Nobody reads long messages — cut it to three lines."

Myth. Short doesn't win; scannable wins. A three-line message that makes them guess the deal, the rate, and the next step forces a clarifying reply or, more often, none. Length isn't the enemy — unearned length is. If every sentence does a job (here's who, here's the offer, here's the number, here's the ask), longer outperforms cryptic-and-brief every time. Cut filler, not information. "Short" is a proxy people mistook for the goal.