How to Simplify Complex Messaging for Your Community
Are we there yet? With three rambunctious children and countless long roadtrips, my parents were quite familiar with this phrase.
I think of it now because that’s how many families feel as they slog through important messages. Are we there yet? When is this message going to get to the point of what’s important for me and my family? (And will this sentence ever end?)
Right now, we’re all dealing with constantly changing, complex information, and we’re pushing out what seems like endless messaging about it. It’s important to remember our end goal—serving our audience with the right information, in an equitable way—as we create our communications.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, only 13 percent of American adults can “perform complex and challenging literary activities.” That’s why it’s important to write at a fifth grade reading level when sharing messages with our communities. But when you’re used to writing for industry journals, grants and more, that can be difficult.
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When partners and clients ask me how to simplify their language, I tell them to ask themselves one small question: is it short? Then I run through this list:
Is your paragraph short?
No? Then break it up! Your paragraph should NEVER be longer than 5 sentences—but using 2-3 sentences is better.
Is your sentence short?
No? Break it up! The American Press Institute says if your sentence is 14 words or fewer, readers can understand 90 percent of the info.
Are your words short? (And simple).
No? Find a substitution! Five or fewer characters is ideal. The CDC has great resources on everyday words to use in health-related communications like COVID-19 messages.
Bonus question: has passive language been used to draft my sentence?
Yes? Tighten it up. For example, to fix the question I just asked, make this change: Am I using passive language?
You’ll be surprised what a difference this small question can make in your writing. Now if you’re like me, you want a way to “test” your messaging. Is it reader friendly enough?
The answer is the Flesch-Kincaid Readability tests. These two tests are designed to measure how difficult text is to read and understand. The good news is, if you have Microsoft Word, you can test your messaging—and it’s easy.
How do YOU make sure complex messaging is reader friendly? What are your tips? We would love to hear from you!
