How can you be more persuasive in your writing and speaking? Clarity is key, of course, and techniques such as storytelling and asking questions can also be useful. But one often-overlooked factor is the value of brevity. When we’re trying to persuade someone to see our point of view, we often want to give every argument we can think of in favor of it (and against the opposition). But this is rarely effective.

In this ten-minute video, Niro Sivanathan clearly presents research proving that when you’re trying to persuade people, less is more. This is because of what he calls “the dilution effect”: adding too many points dilutes the overall strength of your argument. In his words, “your arguments don’t add up in the minds of the receiver, they average out.” To thoroughly understand the evidence behind this statement and how to apply it in your writing and speaking to be more persuasive, check out Sivanathan’s TEDx talk here: