By Adrienne Julier
A few years ago, I went to a high school graduation, and the valedictorian—an extremely intelligent young woman with close to a perfect SAT score—got up to speak. Her speech was impassioned and obviously well planned; unfortunately, it was also so loaded with obscure words that the vast majority of the audience—including me—couldn’t understand what she was saying. As I glanced around the theater, I soon saw people looking at their programs or, even worse, their phones.
As an editor of financial material, I have at times noticed a similar tendency in new professionals. Eager to showcase their newly acquired knowledge and prove their worth in the field, they sometimes load their writing with complex words and technical jargon. And while this approach may have been effective in their academic writing, it is generally not successful when the audience is composed of people who are not specialists in the field.
The bottom line is that no matter how ingenious or important your message—if your readers do not understand it, you will not get your point across.
Target Your Audience
Whether you’re describing research findings, explaining tax rules, or promoting investment products, it’s essential to consider the makeup of your expected audience; a one-size-fits-all approach is rarely effective. What is your audience’s average knowledge level of the subject matter? Would most of them be familiar with the industry terms used in your communication? Try to put yourself in your readers’ shoes: tell them what they need to know in terms that will be familiar to them. As noted in the Federal Plain Language Guidelines, it’s not a matter of “dumbing down” your writing, but of tailoring it to your audience’s needs. To that end, here are some tips that I’ve learned for explaining complex concepts in clear, understandable terms.
Keep focused on your message. Consider the main idea that you’re trying to get across and make sure that every part of your communication supports that purpose. If there is any extraneous information that could confuse readers or take them offtrack, eliminate it or provide it as a separate supplement (or link) for those who are interested. To be most effective, the main body of your communication should tell readers only what they need to know.
Avoid needless technical jargon. If you can use simple terms to explain a concept, always do so. That being said, sometimes it’s just not possible—or practical—to eliminate industry jargon entirely. In that case, make sure to clearly explain the meaning of the term on the first use. If you think that most, but not all, of your readers will be familiar with it, you can provide the definition in a sidebar or a linked glossary entry, where you can explain the term without interrupting the flow of the text.
Use parallel construction to explain similar concepts. If you’re explaining terms that are related, use a uniform sentence style to explain them so that readers can easily make comparisons. For example, if you’re illustrating two different types of loans, you could write something like this:
- Fixed loans have a permanent interest rate that is set at the onset of the loan.
- Variable loans have changing interest rates that are set at various points of the loan.
By placing similar types of information at the same points within sentences, you make it easier for readers to compare where the two concepts are the same and where they are different.
Break down complex information. Whenever possible, break down concepts into digestible steps or parts. For example, using parallel if/then statements can be very helpful in explaining the relationship between factors:
- If the number of home buyers increases, the supply of homes decreases and prices go up.
- If the number of home buyers decreases, the supply of homes increases and prices go down.
If there are several factors, consider using a table to present the information.
Provide real-world examples to explain complex concepts. Try to relate a complex idea to something that your audience would be familiar with. For example, if you want to explain how a complex loan works, you could compare it to a car loan—something that people outside the financial industry could relate to—and then explain the key differences between the two concepts.
Use an easy-to-read format. Make sure the publication is formatted in a way that makes the information easy to find and digest. In general, using bold headings, short paragraphs, and bullet points, where applicable, can make the communication easy to read. And be sure to leave some white space so the page doesn’t appear overcrowded with information.
Test your communication on someone who is not a subject-matter expert. When you’ve finished your draft, have someone with a knowledge level similar to that of your target audience read it and point out any confusing areas. It can also be helpful to enlist an editor who is familiar with the subject matter but not necessarily an expert in the field; in this way, the editor can take the perspective of a typical audience member but also have enough understanding to help you explain the technical concepts more clearly.
Make It Look Easy
You might be concerned that simplifying your subject matter will make you appear less knowledgeable, but quite the opposite is true. If you think about great athletes, for example, you’ll realize that the best performers make it look easy—like the figure skaters who complete soaring triple axels as if they were routine single jumps. We’re still aware of the difficulty involved, and we’re even more amazed that they can make it look easy.
The same principle goes for writing: if you can communicate a complex financial topic in clear, familiar terms, you’re quite likely to impress your audience. But more importantly, you’ll get your point across—and that’s impressive enough.
Adrienne Julier (www.abjeditorial.com) is an independent editor and writer with more than 15 years of experience working with financial topics, such as accounting, executive compensation, and investing. An active STC and Technical Editing SIG member, Adrienne specializes in making complex topics understandable.