Easy to understand words that tell the truth. Emphasis on easy to understand, and emphasis on telling the truth. I guess there isn’t a lot else to emphasize in that short sentence. Dana isn’t the only one to mention it lately. (I’m an occasional reader of his various outputs, including his newsletter “Things That Caught My Attention”.) A similar message also appeared on Aftermatha, derived from a quite different source.
Maybe it’s in the air. I hope we’ll be seeing a lot more of it than we have been lately.
Keeping it as simple to understand as possible is pretty much the advice of all the good writers out there. It is easier to connect with people if you are speaking (or writing) the truth. And furthermore, it’s easier for people to understand if you say what you want to say with easy to understand words.
Something else that Dan mentioned is the sentiment that “Nobody is happy, and everybody is making do.” It’s in that very same newsletter. I’ll be reusing that, and referring to it again. Maybe again and again. Because it’s the truth about a lot of different things these days. We can make it better, but first we have to say what it is.
Email me your best examples of plain language that is telling the truth.