Good communication isn’t about simplifying ideas. It’s about removing the friction that stops people noticing them in the first place.

I’ve noticed recently that it’s becoming more and more important to be careful about things that seem to make perfect sense.

For example, the idea that people don’t read content anymore.

That sounds dramatic, but it’s only half true. People do read, just not in the way we imagine when we’re writing. What they actually do is skim, scan, and move on, a bit like looking at a menu when you’re not really hungry but still hopeful something will catch your eye.

This isn’t because people are stupid or distracted. It’s because they’re optimistic. Every scroll comes with the quiet assumption that the next post might be better than the last one.

The mistake we then make is trying too hard. We add more explanation, more cleverness, more layers. Ironically, that usually makes the message harder to understand, not easier.

I think clarity is massively undervalued. If something needs a long explanation, it’s often a sign that the value wasn’t obvious quickly enough.

A useful test is this. If you had to explain your idea in a single sentence before anything else, what would that sentence be?

It’s a bit like telling someone a train journey will save them £40 before you explain the route. Once they know why it matters, they’re far more willing to listen to how it works.

Good communication isn’t about simplifying ideas. It’s about removing the friction that stops people noticing them in the first place.