Hi folks,
The last time we talked about communications, we discussed how critical context is, and how ignoring the context of a famous quote by Martin Luther King Jr. nearly ruined his monument.
There are many more communications principles worth discussing. In my opinion, one of the most critical is simplifying the language we use. I had a professor once who said “don’t use a quarter word when a nickel one will do.” I didn’t fully appreciate it then, but I sure do after years in the consulting and Federal industries.
We all see it every day. Otherwise good ideas obfuscated by overly-complicated language – in presentations, in emails, everywhere. And for what purpose?
^ That’s exactly the problem. The audience is left not knowing if the speaker is trying to sound impressive, is trying to hide something among the impressive words, or is just unable to simplify their language. But they are left with a feeling of disconnect – that the speaker isn’t communicating with their authentic voice. Because, really, when people are being authentic, they don’t use complex sentence structures and terms like synergy, paradigm shift, etc.
As I write this, we’re in the middle of the 2016 Presidential campaign. Politics aside, Trump has demonstrated a remarkable ability to communicate and persuade. How? In part, at least, by apparently communicating on a fourth grade level. And he’s not alone. According to the analysis by the Boston Globe, none of the candidates communicate above the 10th grade level.
On the other end of the scale, the first paragraph of NIST 800-37 ranks at 19.1 on the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level scale. This is the paragraph that is supposed to describe “the need for information security and managing risk” – a paragraph, then, that seems not only relatively straightforward to write, but also pretty damn important to communicate well. We’ve talked earlier about the importance of easing your audience into a conversation or communication. I’m pretty sure that opining using doctoral-level language isn’t the most effective means of bringing your audience into the fold.
So what can we do?
Communicate like you’re talking to your friends. Don’t try to sound smart, don’t try to impress – just try to communicate. Sure, if you’re talking about a specialized topic, you’ll need to use some specialized language, but that shouldn’t make your whole communication complicated. Use specific, specialized terminology when needed and wrap it with simple, straightforward words. You’re far more likely to engage your audience, sound authentic, and get the kind of response you’re looking for.
By the way – this post gets an 8.4 Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level scale. I should run for President.
Rex
PS – read this book: Why Business People Speak Like Idiots