Overconciseness

Overconciseness is a communication flaw characterized by excessive brevity that omits essential information, context, or nuance. It sits near the extreme end of the brevity scale, where the aim is to minimize length at the expense of clarity.

Causes include time pressure, strict editorial guidelines, automated editing, and a belief that shorter is always better. It can appear in multiple domains, such as journalism, technical writing, programming documentation, and user interfaces, where conciseness is valued but critical details risk being dropped.

Consequences include increased ambiguity, misinterpretation, and the need for rereading to infer omitted information. In safety-critical or instructional contexts, overconciseness can lead to mistakes, incomplete procedures, or harmful outcomes.

Strategies to avoid overconciseness focus on audience and purpose. Identify the information your audience needs, define the scope, and present essential content first. Use structured formats such as summaries with supporting details, headings, and examples. Test your text with representative readers, and be willing to add brief clarifications or caveats when needed. Editing should aim for enough brevity to be efficient without sacrificing understanding.

Note: The term is informal and used mainly in discussions about writing quality. It is distinct from appropriate conciseness, which communicates clearly with economy.