Clear is Kind. Unclear is Unkind.

The English language is one of the hardest to learn, even for people who speak it. There are thousands of words that have multiple meanings. There are words that sound the same, yet have different uses, for example, there, their, and they’re. There are more grammatical rules for English than any other language, except maybe Latin. (I took five years of Latin, so that last statement is possibillis but not fact-checked). 

English is also difficult due to the complexities of changing definitions over time, meaning that a word you used 30 years ago may have a different meaning today. Take the word “bad” for example. It means different things at different times. Sometimes it actually means bad. Sometimes it means good. The other day I heard a guy say “she bad” and I don’t think he was talking about the woman’s behavior.

One of my favorite expressions is “Clear is kind. Unclear is unkind.” Although I’m often misunderstood and mistaken, I’ve tried to be clear with colleagues, friends and family. But the nuances of the English language, technology and my manifold and multifarious vocabulary often make it difficult to do so. 

Take texting for example. Even in this simple messaging system, words can be misconstrued. We use code to convey feelings and actions. Did that person really “lol” at my text? And what does TLDR mean? (Too Long; Didn’t Read)

And I fear that “biz speak” makes true, meaningful communication almost impossible. Resumes and proposals and ads and social media posts these days are full of BS (biz speak).

If you read a resume and the writer describes themselves as “a dynamic, quality-focused, results-driven team player who thrives working with cross-functional dynamic organizations who shift the paradigm”, would you hire them?

Or would you “throw them under the bus because they sound like an empty suit that will drop the ball because they can’t get traction when they run an ideation product up the flagpole?” After tackling that bag of word garbage I would simply throw the resume “over the wall like a poorly crafted one-pager that didn’t resonate and missed the mark.” In other words, I’d toss the resume in the circular file.

“Clear is kind. Unclear is unkind.” Heed my advice and make your texts, emails, conversations, proposals, pitches, and marketing communications more clear and less complicated. Without clarity, it’s all just BS.