What does 'brevity is the soul of wit' mean?

Brevity is the Soul of Wit

The proverb 'brevity is the soul of wit' means that articulate and intelligent communication (speech and writing) should use few and wisely chosen words. It is best associated with the play 'Hamlet,' by William Shakespeare.
FOOTNOTE
In Shakespeare's Hamlet, the lines are spoken by Polonious, whose advice is often also quoted in his parting remarks to his son Laertes elsewhere in Hamlet, which ends with

This above all: To thy own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man.

which has been guiding advice for millions of people since. Given the context of the play, however, we find this advice to be wrong.

In Shakespeare's day, 'wit' principally referred to intelligence, and the essence or soul of being intelligent is to convey your thoughts as briefly and efficiently as possible. Here is the context of the line:
LORD POLONIUS

This business is well ended.
My liege, and madam, to expostulate
What majesty should be, what duty is,
Why day is day, night night, and time is time,
Were nothing but to waste night, day and time.
Therefore, since brevity is the soul of wit,
And tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes,
I will be brief: your noble son is mad:
Mad call I it; for, to define true madness,
What is't but to be nothing else but mad?
But let that go.


It should also be noted that this phrase is very ironic in the context of the play, as Polonius is anything but brief in his long speeches.

This proverb implies to go straight to the point and not beat around the bush. Briefing is an important aspect in today's hurrying world. A wise man knows how to brief and that's how he hit the Bull's eye.