One of the themes of this blog is – Keep it simple. Pardon the pun – it sounds simple, but what is simple to one person may not be to another. Unless you plan to write bills for the U.S. House or Senate, simple communication serves you and your customer best.

Here are just a few examples of some of my personal pet peeves on things made more complicated than they should be.

Acronyms – the problem with acronyms has been around long before the age of computers. I have nothing against acronyms. They prevent the repeat of long, drawn-out text. The problem is that acronyms have become such an everyday part of so many industries that we forget others may not know what they mean. 

When I hear an acronym I don’t know, I ask what the letters represent. It’s funny how often industry long-timers have no idea. For me, if I know what the letters represent, I am more likely to remember the term. 

A recent post illustrated my point about acronyms. Perhaps I was extremely ignorant (okay-probably) when I did not understand a social media guru’s repeated use of JV represented Joint Venture. The odds are, however, that someone else out there in the listening world didn’t know it either.

The rule of thumb of spelling out the entire term, followed by the acronym in parentheses, is a good one. Even when communicating within the same industry, it pays to keep it simple.

CAPTCHA - And speaking of acronyms, I recently learned this one – Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart (CAPTCHA). I like it. I certainly encountered it before but did not know its acronym.  It’s that sometime annoying combination of distorted letters and/or numbers you confirm before finalizing an order or some other online activity.

What I don’t like is the end result of this control against spammers. I appreciate the cause but the complexity of some forms of CAPTCHA is beyond ridiculous. Look at the example.

If the idea is a control that only humans can read, does it not make sense to make it readable? The goal is deterring spam – not humans. Keep it simple.

Legislation – I made a passing reference in the opening of this post to House and Senate bills. In my health care blog, I wrote about the complexity of the written House bill on health care reform. It really is an art form of confusion. I would extend the criticism to most written legal documents.

It is simply not necessary to make all things legal complicated. You should not have to hunt throughout a document for clarity. Organize it so definitions and acronyms are in one location. Provide a brief clarification within the content so the reader has a grasp of the concept while reading.

When reading a technical document, I want to be able to read the entire document and have at least a general idea of what I read. I can conduct further research later if I choose to do so.

Think about the well-written science fiction novel.  You enjoy the characters and understand the plot without necessarily knowing all the scientific or made-up terms. When the terms and references get in the way of the story, you’ve lost the reader. And, yes, I do believe that is probably the point of many legal documents and legislation.

Well, there you have it – just a few of my examples. Please share your pet peeves of communication complexity.

Keep it simple, clear & uniquely yours

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