Get Right to the Point

Katherine Lee says less is more when it comes to communication
Blocks spelling out the words "more" and "less"
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Get to the point.

That is it. 

Shall I elaborate? Whether one is making slides for a presentation, writing an email or speaking, I suggest that one be as concise as possible. Drill down to the ask or take-home message.

I have found concise communication to be appreciated by recipients. Time is valuable. I would rather not scroll through paragraphs of text; would you? As you are writing, make the backspace key your friend. Replace full sentences with bullet points, as appropriate. 

Slides with minimal text in a larger font will be more legible to the audience: raise your hand if you wear reading glasses or progressives (I do!). Pondering whether a slide is needed? When in doubt, move it to the backups.


Katherine Lee, Senior Director and Head of Scientific Planning and Operations, Pfizer
Katherine Lee, Senior Director and Head of Scientific Planning and Operations, Pfizer

Katherine Lee obtained her B.S., summa cum laude, with Distinction in Chemistry from Yale University and her Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from MIT with Professor Rick Danheiser. Katherine then did postdoctoral studies at the University of Texas at Austin with Professor Stephen Martin before joining Mitotix, Inc. (now Agennix) as a medicinal chemist.

Katherine moved to Wyeth Research (now Pfizer) in 2000 and in 2009 joined Pfizer. Katherine is an expert in medicinal chemistry, with research interests including fragment-based drug design, structure-based drug design, and optimization of ADME and safety properties. 

Katherine is a co-inventor of several clinical compounds. In 2019, Katherine joined Pfizer’s Inflammation and Immunology Research Unit as Senior Director and Head of Scientific Planning and Operations.

Katherine was the 2015 Chair of the Northeastern Section of the American Chemical Society (NESACS) and the 2018 Chair of the ACS Division of Organic Chemistry (ORGN). In 2019, she joined the ACS Board of Directors as District I Director.

The opinions expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the view of their employer or the American Chemical Society.

Katherine Lee, Senior Director and Head of Scientific Planning and Operations, Pfizer

Katherine Lee is Senior Director and Head of Scientific Planning and Operations at Pfizer. She is an expert in medicinal chemistry, with research interests including fragment-based drug design, structure-based drug design, and optimization of ADME and safety properties. 


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