Purpose
Convert dense, meandering copy into the Smart Brevity structure popularized by Axios — headline, lede, "Why it matters," key points, and go-deeper — so readers grasp the core message in seconds and word count drops 40-60% without losing substance. Solves the problem of copy that buries the point under throat-clearing and redundancy.
When to Use
Invoke this skill when the user asks to:
- Rewrite a newsletter, email, or update in Axios / Smart Brevity style
- Tighten long-winded or dense copy that buries the main point
- Cut word count on an announcement, report, or blog post without losing meaning
- Make internal comms or executive updates more scannable
- Add a "Why it matters" or "Go deeper" structure to existing content
- Turn a wall of text into skimmable bullets and short blocks
Inputs Required
Before starting, collect:
- Source copy: The full text to rewrite (paste or reference)
- Audience: Who reads this — subscribers, employees, executives, customers
- Primary takeaway: The one thing the reader must remember (if unclear, infer and confirm)
- Format destination: Newsletter / email / Slack post / landing block / report intro
- Desired length target: Word count ceiling, or "as tight as possible" (default: 40-60% of original)
- Voice constraint: Any brand tone rules or terms that must stay (optional)
If the primary takeaway is ambiguous, extract the most consequential fact from the source and lead with it, noting the assumption.
Instructions
Step 1: Extract the Core Before Rewriting
Read the source and identify, before writing a single new word:
- The one sentence that carries the whole point (the lede candidate)
- The stakes — why the reader should care (feeds "Why it matters")
- The essential facts — 2-5 points that must survive the cut
- The dead weight — throat-clearing openers, hedges, redundant restatements, adverbs, and passive constructions to delete
Step 2: Write the Headline
6-10 words. Concrete and specific — a claim or news, not a topic label.
- Prefer active verbs and a stated outcome ("Q3 signups jumped 40%") over vague framing ("An update on our growth")
- No colons-as-crutch unless the second half earns it
- Must be understandable standalone, without the body
Step 3: Write the Lede (Strong First Sentence)
One sentence, ~20 words max. Bold the first 2-4 words as the entry point (Smart Brevity convention).
- State the single most important thing — do not warm up to it
- Lead with the news, not the context. Context comes after.
- If two facts compete, pick the one with the highest consequence for this audience
Step 4: Write "Why it matters"
1-2 sentences, labeled Why it matters:.
- Connect the lede to the reader's world — the "so what"
- Answer: what changes, what's at risk, or what to do about it
- Never restate the lede in different words — advance the meaning
Step 5: Build the Key Points (Bulleted)
2-5 bullets, each a single tight line.
- Bold the lead word or phrase of each bullet
- One idea per bullet; delete transition words between bullets
- Use numbers and specifics wherever the source supplies them
- Order by importance, not chronology
Step 6: Add "Go deeper" (Optional)
Include only if genuine additional detail, nuance, or a link belongs here.
- Labeled Go deeper: — 1-2 sentences or a short bullet
- This is the home for caveats, methodology, or secondary context that would clutter the main flow
Step 7: Cut Ruthlessly and Verify Length
Compare final word count to source.
- Target 40-60% reduction
- Remove any word that doesn't carry meaning: "very," "really," "in order to," "the fact that," "it should be noted"
- Prefer periods to commas — short sentences read faster
- If the rewrite is under 40% shorter, cut another pass
Output Format
- Structure: Headline → bolded-entry lede → Why it matters → 2-5 bolded bullets → optional Go deeper
- Length: 40-60% of the source word count; note both original and final counts at the end
- Format: Structured Smart Brevity block with bolded entry points and bullets — scannable, not prose paragraphs
- Sections: Headline, Lede, Why it matters, Key points, Go deeper (if warranted), Word-count summary line
- Tone: Direct, confident, plainspoken — Axios newsroom voice. No hedging, no filler, no adverb padding.
Quality Checklist
Before delivering output, verify:
- [ ] Final word count is 40-60% below the original (state both numbers)
- [ ] Headline is 6-10 words and works standalone without the body
- [ ] Lede is one sentence with the first 2-4 words bolded
- [ ] "Why it matters" advances the point — it does not restate the lede
- [ ] Every bullet leads with a bolded word and carries exactly one idea
- [ ] No essential fact from the source was dropped in the cut
Notes
- Smart Brevity is a structure, not just shorter copy — a 30% shorter blob without the headline/lede/why-it-matters scaffold is not a Smart Brevity rewrite
- The "Why it matters" block is where most rewrites fail: writers restate the lede instead of answering "so what." Push for genuine consequence.
- If the source has multiple distinct topics, produce a separate Smart Brevity block per topic rather than cramming them into one lede
- When the audience is executive, front-load the decision or ask; when it's subscribers, front-load the surprise or the number
How to use this skill
This file is a Claude Code skill in Anthropic's standard format — markdown with YAML frontmatter at the top.
Installing in Claude Code:
~/.claude/skills/<folder-name>/SKILL.md— auto-loads in every session anywhere on your machine (recommended for skills you'll use across multiple projects)<your-project>/.claude/skills/<folder-name>/SKILL.md— auto-loads only when working in that project (recommended for project-specific skills)
Restart Claude Code or open a new session to register.
Using in Claude.ai, ChatGPT, Gemini, or other AI tools:
- Drag this file into a new chat, or copy and paste its contents
- Send your task or request as your next message — the AI will apply the skill where it fits
For Claude Code skill details: https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/claude-code/skills