# One Sentence > Answer with ONE crafted sentence instead of a paragraph — for explaining concepts, defining terms, and writing self-intros, taglines, loglines, or positioning lines. Built on the craft of extreme compression in English (Rebecca Okamoto's 20-word introduction method, aphorism structure, genus-differentia definitions): find the load-bearing idea, pick a deliberate sentence form, make every word earn its place, and stop. Use when the user says one sentence / one-liner / in 20 words / the short version of a concept / just the essence / 一句话 / 一句话讲清楚 / 别长篇大论, asks for a tagline, self-intro, elevator line, or logline, or has switched on one-sentence mode for the session. NOT for document summaries (a tl;dr can be several lines), NOT for recapping the conversation (use conclude-rounds if installed), NOT for decisions or trade-off questions (use a thinking skill), NOT a length cap on instructions or code — compressing those loses load-bearing content. - Skill: `m1nga/one-sentence` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 3 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add m1nga/one-sentence` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/m1nga/one-sentence/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Marketing & Growth - Author: m1nga (https://skillmd.com/u/m1nga) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/m1nga/one-sentence --- # One Sentence A paragraph explains; a sentence survives. People forget explanations and repeat sentences — so when the user asks for a concept, give them the sentence they will still have tomorrow, and nothing else. This is not "answer within 20 words." Twenty words is the *budget*; the craft is deciding what the budget buys. Compression is selection, not shrinking: you cut ideas until one remains, then spend every word on that one. ## The contract - Deliver **one sentence**. No preamble, no "Here's a one-liner:", no follow-up paragraph, no bullet of alternatives (unless the user asked for variants). - If the user wants depth, they will say "more" / 展开. The sentence's job is to *earn* that question — Okamoto's test: a good line doesn't close the topic, it makes the listener say **"tell me more."** - **Honesty outranks brevity.** If one sentence would be false without a qualifier, the qualifier is load-bearing and stays. A true 25-word sentence beats a false 15-word one. If a concept genuinely cannot be carried honestly in one sentence, say that — in one sentence — and offer the trade. - One sentence means **one breath**: no semicolon chains, no em-dash freight trains smuggling a paragraph through punctuation. ## Step 1 — Find the load-bearing idea Before writing a word, answer: *what would the listener repeat to someone else tomorrow?* That is the sentence's cargo. Everything else — history, caveats, adjacent facts, your process — is the part you are paid to delete. For a concept, the cargo is usually one of: what it IS (category + difference), how it WORKS (mechanism), or why it MATTERS (stakes). Pick one. A sentence that tries to carry two collapses into a paragraph wearing a belt. ## Step 2 — Choose a sentence form deliberately | Form | Skeleton | Use for | |---|---|---| | **Definition** | X is a [family] that [what makes it different] | terms, tools, roles — the genus-differentia move: the family does half the work, the difference does the other half | | **Mechanism** | X works by [cause → effect] | processes, systems, algorithms | | **Stakes** | X matters because [concrete consequence] | why-should-I-care questions | | **Contrast** | Everyone treats X as [assumption]; it is actually [the twist] | misunderstood concepts — only when the twist is real | | **Metaphor** | X is [thing the listener already owns] for [domain] | bridging to a novice — the borrowed structure must actually match | | **Okamoto** (people/products) | I/It help(s) [audience] [get benefit] — optionally *without [pain]* | self-intros, taglines, positioning | Okamoto's variants for self-intros, when "help" doesn't fit: *I'm known for [strength]…* / *I'm passionate about [value]…* / *I'm on a mission to [change]…* — all obey the same law: **about-you beats about-me** ("I help new authors get published faster" beats "I'm an award-winning, bestselling author"). ## Step 3 — Make every word load-bearing - **Concrete beats abstract**: one number or image outperforms three adjectives. “Scans 71 sources every 2 minutes” is concrete only if those numbers are supplied or verified. Without them, describe the actual action; never invent a number, customer outcome, or guarantee to make a line memorable. - **The verb carries the sentence.** Find the strongest verb and build around it; a sentence leaning on *is/has/provides* is usually hiding its verb in a noun (*"provides optimization of"* → *"optimizes"*). - **Cut hedges, keep the one that's true.** *May, might, can help to* stack into fog; if uncertainty is real, spend ONE word on it (*"usually"*) and make it count. - **No unearned jargon**: every term the listener doesn't already own costs more than it says — either replace it or make IT the sentence's subject. - **End strong.** The last word gets free emphasis; don't spend it on a preposition or a qualifier. - **Rhythm is persuasion, not proof.** Parallelism and near-rhyme make a line feel truer than it is (the rhyme-as-reason effect) — use rhythm consciously, and never let a line be more confident than its facts. ## Step 4 — Test before delivering 1. **Repeatable**: could a stranger quote it verbatim after one hearing? 2. **Standalone**: does it survive with zero surrounding context? 3. **Tell-me-more**: does it open a follow-up question rather than end one? 4. **Word audit**: delete each word mentally — if the sentence survives, the word was decoration; cut it and re-test. 5. **Truth audit**: is anything in it more certain, bigger, or simpler than reality? Fix that even if it costs words. ## Anti-patterns (each fails a test above) - **Fortune-cookie abstraction** — "True understanding comes from within." Zero cargo; fails standalone and repeatable both. - **Slogan slop** — buzzword strings ("seamless, scalable, next-gen insights"); fails the word audit wholesale. - **The corrective-antithesis tell** — "It's not just X, it's Y" as a reflex template; use Contrast form only when the assumption is real and the twist earns its turn. - **Clause smuggling** — one "sentence," four commas, two dashes, forty words; that's a paragraph in a trench coat. - **Answering the easier question** — compressing a different, simpler claim than the one asked about; the most common way compression lies. ## Modes and language - **Single shot** (default): one request, one sentence. - **Standing mode**: if the user says "keep everything to one sentence" / 从现在起 概念都给一句话, hold the contract for the session until revoked; requests that genuinely need structure (code, plans, instructions, decisions/trade-offs) are exempt — say so in one line and proceed normally. - English is the primary craft target (word budgets, verb placement, stress). For Chinese output: ~20–30 字, same selection discipline; 对仗 and 四字结构 are the native rhythm tools — the same warning applies: 节奏是说服力,不是证据.