Condensing vs. Clarifying: How Long Should Your Message Be?

Core MessagingProfessional SpeakingStorytellingTED-Style Speaking

Feb 18

A new video from the TEDx Talks YouTube channel popped up on my feed the other day. The title was intriguing, my thumb hovered over the play button... and then I scrolled past.

Why?

It was 17 minutes long.

Without even realizing it, I had instinctively dismissed the video—not because the topic wasn’t interesting, but because in 2025, a 17-minute commitment felt like too much.

That experience led me to post on LinkedIn about the importance of condensing ideas for clarity and engagement. It sparked a lot of agreement, but one thoughtful comment pushed back:

"Hmm, I disagree. While there is a place for short and ultra short format content, it depends on the subject matter and the intent of the material. Complex topics require more than a 6-minute bounce along the surface. We need to stop playing into the hands of the short-form content formats thrust at us by social media platforms. How can somebody expect to be properly focused and educated on a topic if they are bombarded with a strobe of content consistently? Sometimes depth is appropriate and needed."

And they’re right.

The real challenge isn't just making things shorter—it's making them sharper. If we don’t distinguish between condensing and clarifying, we risk cutting the depth out of important conversations—or worse, burying the message in unnecessary complexity.

Condensing vs. Clarifying

Condensing is about making something shorter. Clarifying is about making something more understandable. They often overlap, but they are not the same thing.

Some ideas need condensing. Others need room to breathe. The trick is knowing which is which.

Make it as long as it needs to be

My undergraduate thesis advisor Dr. Michael Koch, a brilliant philosopher and teacher, had a frustrating response to students asking how long a paper should be:

"As long as it needs to be, and not a word longer."

Frustrating... and correct.

But "as long as it needs to be" is easier said than done. Here’s a simple framework to determine what’s necessary:

1. What’s the Purpose of the Content?

The purpose of your message determines its ideal length. Are you trying to capture attention or deepen understanding?

If you’re giving a TED-style talk, pitching an idea, or posting on social media, your goal is to distill your message into something instantly graspable. Brevity is power.

If you’re engaging in long-form content, such as a video essay, podcast, or book, your goal is to explore depth and nuance. Detail matters.

Each format serves a different function, and your content should match the expectations of the medium.

2. Who’s Your Audience?

Your audience determines how much patience and cognitive bandwidth you have to work with.

So many scientists, researchers, and academics tell me that it's just not possible to condense their content, that by making it short or simple they'll lose the depth and detail. But it's not about who you are, it's about who they are.

Scientists know all the data, and more importantly, all the caveats, i.e. "This is true, but only in that one room with 18 people on that one day while the Mercury was in retrograde, and we can't generalize it beyond etc etc etc."

Totally, I get it. But are you speaking to a room of fellow scientists who want to - and more importantly are able to - deeply understand the research at that level? Or are you speaking to a general audience on the Red Dot who might be willing to follow you down the Rabbit Hole, if it makes sense enough, quickly enough?

Audience first, always:

A venture capitalist listening to a startup pitch? You’ve got 60 seconds to hook them.
A college student scrolling TikTok? Make your point in 3-10 seconds, or they’re gone.
A policy analyst reading a white paper? They expect depth and citations.
A podcast listener on a long drive? They welcome a 90-minute deep dive.

Understanding who you’re speaking to helps you decide how much to say.

3. What’s the Medium?

Some platforms and formats demand brevity, while others reward depth:

Condensed Formats:

Social media posts
1. TED-style talks
2. Sales pitches
3. Headline writing
4. Elevator pitches
5. Twitter/X threads

Expanded Formats:

Long-form interviews
1. Video essays
2. Podcast discussions
3. Books
4. Live debates

Knowing where your message will live should influence how much detail you include.

The Brevity-Clarity Matrix

Here’s a simple way to visualize this balance.

The Time Vacuum: A rambling keynote that covers 17 points each with 4 tangents, dense data-filled slides, no takeaways and no transitions.

The Fortune Cookie: A one-sentence tweet that sounds profound but is actually devoid of meaning.

The Transformation: A well-structured book that methodically builds an argument, leading the reader to take actions and make a real change in their life.

The Light Bulb: A TED-style talk, article, or social media post that delivers a paradigm shift in under 10 minutes.

The sweet spot? Make every word pull its weight. Cut the fluff, but keep the meaning.

What's really important is that very few people will be open to a transformative journey if they haven't first experienced a light bulb moment. That's the power of clarity AND brevity working together: earning the right to go deep and detailed.