Why (and how) you should simplify your communications

Project management is awash with jargon. You can’t move for acronyms and business speak, which can be anxiety-inducing for those not familiar with the terms. So, is it time to cut down on the confusion by simplifying what you say?

Here are five top tips from the experts on how to do it.

1. Complex language is never needed

Ros Atkins, star of episode 100 of APM Podcast, author of The Art of Explanation and the BBC’s News Analysis Editor, gave some excellent advice about the right type of language to use for effective communication.

“We should understand the cost of using words, phrases and concepts that some people who we’re communicating with don’t understand. They’ll simply conclude this isn’t for them and start tuning out,” he says.

“When we use complex phrases instead of using simpler language to explain something, sometimes this can feel performative… I don’t think this is ever needed.”

2. Am I saying this as simply as I can?

When you’re communicating, ask yourself: is what I’m saying in the simplest form that it can be?

That doesn’t mean dumbing down or ditching important information. “It just means, once I’ve decided what it is that I think is important to say, can I get that into its simplest form? And that means replacing complex words and phrases with things that are simply easier to understand,” says Atkins. “The simpler you make your language, the easier it is to understand and the easier it is for people to act on.”

3. Give them what they need (and distill it)

Atkins advises that, when you’re working on a project, you should stop and think about what each of the individuals you are dealing with wants to know from you.

“What would it be helpful for them to know? And if I can then answer those questions, there's a good chance that they’re going to feel what I’m offering is relevant, and if they feel it’s relevant, they’re much more likely to engage with it,” he explains.

“Make sure you get each piece of information you want to pass on into the simplest form it can be. It’ll both save you time when you’re communicating and make it easier to take in.”

4. Unpick the information for yourself

“The whole point of project management is to overcome the complexity,” says Donna Sinnick, Chief Delivery Officer at Babcock International Group. “I’m a massive believer in simplification. So, if I can’t describe something in the simplest possible way for someone to understand it, it probably means I haven’t quite unpicked it enough.

“I look for the simplest possible version and the simplest way of understanding something, because I think you can really get under the skin of complex problems and stitch things together,” she explains. “Just try to ask: what is the simplest way that we can think about this? The simpler we can make things, the more people understand and, therefore, the more they can get behind the cause.”

5. Respect specialisms but aim for simplicity

“The biggest challenge of project management,” Sinnick says, “is how do you get the thousands of people you can be working with on huge projects and programmes to understand in the simplest possible way? Sometimes it is by describing things in the simplest possible way.”

This doesn’t mean dismissing the complexity of a programme or the specialisms that are necessary to its delivery.

“There’s no doubt that there are huge complexities, but it doesn’t mean that everyone in the project, programme or organisation has to understand them in a level of detail,” she says.

“What you need to crack is: how do you pull it apart enough so that people understand it and can be pointed in the right direction, but you still allow space for the specialists to drive forwards?”

Simply put, if you can truly understand something and describe it clearly and as simply as possible in a way that is meaningful to the person who needs the information, then you’ve done your job.

Listen to Donna Sinnick’s appearance on APM Podcast here.