Tuesday, September 17, 2013

The essence of clarity

They say brevity is the soul of wit. Long, drawn-out descriptions can rob a scene of its strength. What needs to be said can usually be communicated with surprisingly few words. And they will have more meaning, because none are wasted.

Complexity is often a means to deceive. Keep talking around the subject, so that people will not see the truth staring right at them.  Depth is not gained through volume of words, but rather through the meaning of those that are chosen.

It is easy to think yourself into a corner. I have done this many times. The way out is to determine the easiest and best course of action.

One should never be so determined to communicate an idea, that they stumble all over the place and provide little or no elucidation in the end. Simplify your concept: break it down into its component parts. And then, cut away the excess.

Buildings are made from basic materials. Machines are built from a collection of parts. Even living creatures are essentially a combination of flesh, bone and internal organs: each with a simple purpose.

The goal of communication is to achieve understanding. The essence of clarity is simplicity. If you spend too much time explaining something, it is likely your audience will come away having gained nothing.

1 comment:

  1. Well said. You proved your point in your eloquent, economic use of words for your claim!

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