Smart people use simple language

What is a machine?

There are many ways you could answer this question.

Cambridge Dictionary defines a machine as a piece of equipment with moving parts that uses power to do a particular job. 

Websters defines it as a mechanically, electrically, or electronically operated device for performing a task.

The 2009 Bollywood hit film Three Idiots offers two more definitions. Watch here:

In the clip, the protagonist played by Aamir Khan defines a machine as “anything that reduces human effort”, a definition that is contrasted by his classmate’s lengthy definition in which he said a lot but communicated very little.

This point is further illustrated by the protagonist’s lengthy explanation that he was aiming to retrieve “instruments that record, analyse, summarise, organise, debate and explain information that are illustrative, non-illustrative, hard-bound, paperback, jacketed, non-jacketed, with foreword, introduction, table of contents that are intended for the enlightenment, understanding, enrichment and enhancement and education of human brain through sensory route of vision; sometimes touch”;

In one word: books.

All audiences want complex ideas communicated simply. This is true for any profession.

For example, doctors need to explain complex medical conditions, processes and procedures in simple language so that their patients may understand what their ailments and potential remedies are.

The above clip demonstrates a critical point about communication: smart people use simple language. The greater the grasp you have on a topic, the fewer words you’ll need to communicate it.

In fact, academic research finds that people who use complicated language tend to come across as low-status or less intelligent due to the illusion of sophistication that actually signals that the person is dense or overcompensating.

This is true of both written and verbal communication as Mark Twain once noted:

Cutting content without losing meaning is challenging. But its also necessary - especially in today’s world of ever-shrinking attention spans.

Keeping things simple isn’t dumbing down; it’s ensuring that your audience understands what you’re trying to communicate which is vital to driving the decisions you want your audience to make. The lower the brain power required to understand your message, the more likely your audience is to understand your key points.

The iPhone is a complex device that functions as a (video) camera, note-taker, email, dictaphone, phone, mini-television and so much more. It’s wildly successful because its so simple and easy to use that you’re in a group chat with grandma.

Because how many grandmas were sending pictures on the cell phones that existed before iPhones were released?

Brevity in communication reduces confusion, drives greater resonance and is easier to retain. Even the most loyal Adidas customer knows Nike’s “Just Do It” motto.

So before you write your next social media post, press release or speech ask yourself: am I communicating as simply and concisely as possible? Take a machete to your content (figuratively of course), focus on key words and avoid jargon.

As Woodrow Wilson once said “be brief, be brilliant and be gone”.