Simplifying complex ideas becomes easier when you follow the 5 principles set out in this article.
This article discusses the following 5 principles:
Start with the right question
Reduce clutter
Rewrite to bring clarity
Organize
Draw pictures
How to simplify the complex
Let’s not pussyfoot around it.
We all get stuck sometimes. We think we know what to write. But when we open a Word doc, the words don’t flow.
We try to blame it on writer’s block.
Our muse has left us. Today we don’t feel inspired.
But the hard truth is this …
We’re still confused about what we want to communicate. We wrestle with complexity. We don’t know the essence of our unwieldy idea.
Sound familiar?
A few simple principles can help you distill the essence of your message, and communicate with power and clarity.
Want to know how?
1. Start with the right question
Ever feel like an idea is too multi-faceted with threads of thoughts moving in all directions?
And you can’t figure out how to weave all these ideas together into one coherent piece of content?
Step back and isolate one simple question.
In their book The 5 Elements of Effective Thinking, Edward B. Burger and Michael Starbird suggest:
Consider a subject you wish to understand, and clear the clutter until you have isolated one essential ingredient. Each complicated issue has several possible core ideas. You are not seeking “the” essential idea; you are seeking just one—consider a subject and pare it down to one theme.
Let’s say you want to write a post about how to build a thriving business online. This question is complex and unwieldy.
Firstly, what type of online business are we talking about? Promoting a freelance writing business online is different from building a Software-as-a-Service business.
Secondly, when you want to know about building an online business, do you want to learn more about business processes or marketing tactics or about picking the right idea?
So, instead of trying to answer all ideas in one go, start with one simple question. Write about how to generate business ideas, how to do a quick feasibility study, or how to pick one business idea.
To simplify your ideas, simplify your question first.
2. Reduce clutter
The principle of cutting away the clutter to clarify an idea sounds straightforward.
But what is clutter?
When is nuance helpful and when does nuance become clutter?
Imagine a remote control with only an on/off button. It’s simple, but not very useful, is it? To add more functionality, you need more buttons, so complexity increases.
But how many buttons does a remote control need?
The answer depends on the user’s wishes and what product he wants to control.
In his book The Laws of Simplicity, John Maeda describes this as the balance between “How simple can you make it?” and “How simple does it have to be?”
A similar tension exists in writing. How simple can you make your message? When have you cleared so much clutter that your content becomes meaningless?
To understand when nuance becomes clutter, think about your reader. What information is essential so he can understand your ideas and follow your advice?
3. Rewrite to bring clarity
Writing simply requires taking a step back and then looking at your content again with fresh eyes. What’s the aim of your content? And how can you simplify your writing to achieve that aim?
Simplicity is hard to achieve.
Shane Parrish suggests that even Charles Darwin found it hard to express himself clearly and concisely. Darwin wrote down his ideas quickly, and then went back to them again and again. A reiterative revision process.
When you give your ideas time to blossom, you give yourself an opportunity to make your writing clearer. So write your content over several days.
And don’t stop writing after you’ve answered one question. Revisit topics to deepen your understanding. Find an even simpler question or branch out to follow different threads of thought.
You can understand anything better than you currently do.
~ Edward B. Burger and Michael Starbird
4. Organize
One blog post has the perfect length to answer one simple question.
But what if your readers ask complex questions? And what if you want to help them make sense of complexity?
This is where organization comes in.
Organization makes a system of many appear fewer.
~ John Maeda
Let’s think about a book. Each chapter of a book answers one simple question. Together, these chapters answer a bigger question, like this:
You can apply a similar principle to your blog.
First, create a series of blog posts answering the simple questions. Then, create a page or blog post as a collection of these questions—show how you break down a complex question into smaller questions. Such content is often called cornerstone content.
My blog post about how to improve your writing skills is an example of cornerstone content. First, it breaks down the question of improving writing skills into:
- Which writing techniques do you need to learn?
- What writing habits can we nurture?
- How can we write with substance?
- Where do we find inspiration to keep improving our writing?
Next, it breaks each of these questions down into simpler questions. For instance, the question about writing techniques includes:
- What’s a good sentence?
- How do you choose words?
- How do you make your writing flow smoothly?
- How do you use metaphors?
- How do you write mini-stories?
Once you’ve answered the simple questions, answering a big question becomes easier. A matter of organization.
5. Draw pictures
When I wrestle with an unwieldy topic, I start scribbling.
Even writing down a few words and drawing arrows can help clarify my thoughts.
Stop thinking of drawing as an artistic process. Drawing is a thinking process.
~ Dan Roam
How to communicate with power and clarity
Learning to write well means learning to think well.
And that means re-learning how to ask questions.
Remember when you were a kid, and kept asking questions?
Look at the world again with fresh eyes. Be a child again. Learn to be comfortable with not knowing answers, and you’ll discover new lessons and fresh ideas.
Follow your curiosity.
That’s how you learn more and enrich your life.
PS Thank you to Kathy Keats for inspiring this post.
Recommended reading on writing strategies:
A brilliant example of explanatory writing: A story about whales
How to simplify your writing: A little-known practice
How to write like Hemingway
Perfect timing to see this Henneke.
Loved your recent webinar too. Thank you.
While I loved your class, in late 2016, I took a break from blogging to finally get a book done for my family and history.
For four years now, I have been working on a book about my grandfather, a military leader in WWII Pacific.
Today I hit writers block.
I have rewritten (This is my 4th draft!) it to clarify and try to shorten the manuscript since it is 400 pages.
My goal this Spring was to slowly comb through each chapter. The manuscript is getting better but longer with my changes.
This week I came up on a battle I am still wrestling with as a civilian. The battle was four long months in tough terrain.
While I want to honor all the men who fought on the islands and everyone & everything involved, there is not enough space. And, I am not sure the reader wants to get as bogged down in the deep swampland as the Marines did on that island. So what must go in and what can I leave out?
Alas.
It’s that zoom in and zoom out challenge I still have.
How to tackle this. Maybe draw some pictures to free my mind. ? Why? Who? Where? When? How?
Any ideas?
Cheers and healthy regards,
Amy
Hi Amy – I’m with you. Writing such a long book sounds like a big challenge to me.
I would try to draw (or map) your grandfather’s journey. What are the key events that are relevant for the story? Why are they relevant?
When you’ve drawn the journey, it may be easier to see what can be removed and what can be left out.
I hope you’re staying safe and well.
Dear Henneke,
I am Jayakrishnan from Bangalore, India. This is my ever first comment on your blog. I have had a chance to notice your name in one of the post of Mrs. Vidya Sury and since then I am blessed to connect your writings through mail subscription. Really fascinated with your useful tips on writing skills. Right now gone through “5 Ways to Simplify Complex Ideas (and Communicate with Clarity)”. You have created a wonderful painting, coloring your ideas with bright and right shades on a clear canvas, highlighting on a few simple principles, to churn out the essence of content to bring out the power and clarity on messages. Well done! You have rightly said… “Look at the world again with fresh eyes. Be a child again. Learn to be comfortable with not knowing answers, and you’ll discover new lessons and fresh ideas.” I felt that this charming vision has to be applied not only in writing but in every moment of Life… We learn the Lessons of Life without ceasing to attain the clarity on truth behind the purpose…all through the journey of life….Keep going dear…
Best wishes, Jay
Hi Jayakrishnan
Thank you so much for your wonderful compliment on your writing.
You wrote… ‘I felt that this charming vision has to be applied not only in writing but in every moment of Life.” I agree with your point. When we try to look at the world with fresh, childlike eyes, we can re-discover the beauty in so many small things.
I appreciate you’ve stopped by to leave your comment.
Warm wishes,
Henneke
Years ago when I wanted to be a doctor with the added knowledge of using a computer to keep my data and retrieve as and when required in different algorithms, I had to go somewhere to learn how.
I have always been based in India, so these thoughts in 1978/79 were considered vague and eccentric. However, I pursued my goal and got a class in a computer software school run by redundant IBM staff, as the company was asked to leave India along with Coca Cola in 1977 by a farmer led government.
There I learned two subjects, Systems analysis and Cobol programming. Cobol flew quickly out if the cuckoos nest but systems analyses remained.
A basic skill was flow charting any system in place for efficient use of resources and maximum results repeatedly. A basic programme.
Your drawings Henneke, go beyond the boring polygons of flow charting to a simple and interesting technique which when used properly provides a means of amazing clarity in writing with added inspiration and fun.
Bravo, once again. Your writing fascinates me.
Thank you.
Nicolas
Wow, you’re a man of many talents, Nicolas!
I love how you pursued your own ideas and decided to learn something even though others thought it was rather eccentric.
Isn’t it amazing how we can learn a technique, and then we find out we can use it in other areas of our lives? I find this is true for drawing in general. Learning to draw has helped me to write better, too. It probably helps me think better, too, as it can help organize and clarify my thoughts.
Thank you so much for stopping by again, Nicolas. I appreciate it.
My question is going to be from a marketing angle… regarding #3 “Rewrite and rewrite again”.
I would like to stay I agree… but when do you think we should draw the line and just post it on the blog and post it and say you will go over it after it is posted and fix it… (because the internet is flexible and not written in stone)
I ask because some times I feel like it could be weeks till I actually make a post.. and I feel like its overdoing it and overthinking it all
Yes, it’s tricky. It’s easy to stay stuck in eternal editing mode.
I keep myself accountable and publish every week, so I try to do the best I can in the time available to me. Before publishing, I ask myself three questions:
Is this valuable to my readers?
Is there one clear message?
Have I done my best?
– 0 –
You can also ask yourself: Would spending another hour editing improve the text exponentially?
You’ll find more here: https://www.enchantingmarketing.com/is-my-writing-good-enough/
Hi Henneke,
Great post.
“Ever feel like an idea is too multi-faceted with threads of thoughts moving in all directions?” ABSOLUTELY. And that’s one of my biggest hurdles that I face.
Your step #3 is something that every writer needs to pay attention to. So many times people write the first draft and then that’s it, but they don’t realize that first draft might be too complicated for readers to understand. The art of revisions is key to getting your ideas across correctly.
On another note, I’m super impressed by your art skills and Henrietta. I’ve been doing art as well, and it’s a great way to communicate your thoughts rather than just plain writing. Keep up the great work as always.
– Andrew
Thank you for your lovely compliment. I’ve been drawing more recently, and I’m enjoying it a lot.
PS Have you been binge-reading my blog? 😉 I hope you enjoyed it!
Ha! You never say it, but for me, this was a perfection-buster post. I tend to be a “word perfectionist,” and can easily get lost in the weeds of honing THE one essential idea or word. For writing, as with any practice we want to continue, we need to find “a way,” optimally a simpler way, not THE way. This reminder is liberating!
You’re right. I hadn’t quite put my finger on it yet, but it IS liberating not to have to write the definitive post on the key idea. Finding one simple question instead and writing a valuable post about makes blogging weekly a lot more doable!
Thank you for adding your thoughts, Gail. I appreciate it!
You have a great talent for transforming complex issues into simple ones, Henneke. Thank you for sharing ?
What a lovely comment. Thank you, Irina 🙂
Hm..yes, it is all about simplification, in the end. About taking things apart and reverse engineering them. And to keep only the basics in your article.
Yes, strangely enough, I couldn’t reverse-engineer my own process for simplification (other than cutting away the clutter), until I started reading the book by Burger and Starbird, and I slowly realized what I was doing.
Hi Henneke,
The idea of writing a blog post or a novel can be quite easy. But it is a way complex than it seems when you start writing.
Those questions come into your mind. How would you handle if someone asks the difficult question?
I like the list of question you have made here.
It’s important to start writing for a topic about which you want to know more, understand more.
Cut those fussy thoughts and have a clear vision.
Thanks for sharing this article with us.
~Ravi
Hi Ravi
I know that feeling, too, that I think something will be easy to write when I start, but pretty quickly I get stuck and can’t figure out how to move ahead.
Thank you for stopping by again!
Hi Henneke,
This is my absolute favourite topic. Translating the complex into simple terms. Bite-sized chunks. Not an easy feat, but one that copywriters have to master. I thoroughly enjoyed your treatment of this topic…highly readable and entertaining as usual!!!
It felt like a tricky topic to me … more complex than my usual topics 😉
Thank you for your lovely comment, Lee.
Just what I needed to hear. I easily get overwhelmed by the complexity of an issue.
Thanks you.
p.s. I save all your posts.
Yes, I know – it’s easy to get overwhelmed! I often try to decide what the next step is and focus on just that one step.
Thank you for stopping by, Sue. I appreciate it. And lovely to hear you’re saving my posts 🙂
Perfect for me for now.
I recently planned out a whole year of blog topics (one per week) and then felt the overwhelm. This should really help!
I especially love “ask the right question”!!!
Planning out a whole year of blog topics? That task makes me feel overwhelmed just thinking about it! 😉
It was supposed to be a great help, and I think it will be, once I wrap my mind around it. It involves mind mapping, after all! 😀
I think it is just right for some people, but I looked at my plan and thought each topic was too complicated. …
You have shown me I probably just am procrastinating.
Wow! An excellent post Henneke and you had fun with Henrietta 😉
Kind regards
Mark
Thank you, Mark
Yes, I needed Henrietta’s help by this one! We’ve been enjoying ourselves 😉
Hey, Henneke,
I remember writing quite a few precis, French for “precise”, and they were hard! My high
school English teacher loved to assign a precis after everything we read, urging us to “capture the essence”. That’s the same thing you’re urging us to do! And, yes, organizing and rerererewriting to condense and clarify is still hard! And don’t forget to read every rewrite out loud.
Henneke, thanks for much for this brilliant, eye-opening and simplifying post.
Cheers from southern California–Diane
I find that capturing the essence can be surprisingly hard. When we see how others have captured the essence, it seems obvious, until we try ourselves.
Thank you for your lovely comment, Diane. I appreciate it!
Hi Henneke, “Learning to write well means learning to think well.” This seems to me to be the heart of the challenge of creating simplicity from complexity. I appreciate your structured step-by-step approach and will give it a try. Thanks for another helpful solution to a thorny writing problem.
Thank you, Amy, and good to “see” you again!
What I liked about the book from Burger and Starbird is that they make it clear that we can all improve the way we think.
Hi Henneke, a very good post. Your item 4, organise, is a great way to sort out a complex topic. Your question-mark diagram is similar to mind mapping where you can lay out the ideas and sub-ideas that add up to the main point. It then easy to see and discard the “clutter” items which belong in another chapter, or are not required at all.
All the best from sunny Sydney – Paul
Thank you, Paul. I hadn’t looked at it as mind-mapping, but you’re absolutely right!
I’m glad to hear the sun is shining on you 🙂
Hi Henneke,
this is perfect timing once again. I just set up my new website and my brain is going into chaos mode as soon as I start to write. The worst thing about it is my current home page tagline: “Start your business with Clarity”. Waaahhh, where has my own clarity suddenly gone?
Your tips are very helpful indeed.
I found creating my own website one of the hardest jobs since I started running my own business. It’s so hard to define what we do and to achieve clarity. I’d rather write for someone else 😉
Good luck with your new site, Kerstin!
Henneke, Really helpful, especially the keeping things simple, but not too simple part. It amazes me how the brain puts out too much at first and then must be reduced. You’d think it would be the opposite. Interesting reading!
Yes, it’s a fascinating process of expansion and reduction.
When I started blogging, I was nervous about not sharing enough, so I added more ideas into a blog post. I’m now more comfortable discussing a smaller question 🙂
great process for gaining clarity!
a new tool i’ve started using is ‘The Hemingway App’ (there is a free web based version although I sprung for the desktop version) that will help you reduce the complexity of your writing.
this is only useful AFTER you’ve simplified the ideas + content itself. once you’ve done that, this tool can help you then express it more simply + clearly.
Yes, that’s a great tool! You’re adding an excellent point – once you’ve simplified your ideas, there’s still the process of simplifying your sentences. Simplification is hard work, isn’t it?
Good to see you again, Steven! 🙂
Hi Henneke,
I enjoyed your post. It reconfirmed the need for me to break-down my thoughts and simplify my content for my business’s website. I am enrolled in CopyBlogger’s Master class and in the process of building my online site. At times it feels overwhelming… ! Your message came at the right time. Thank-you.
I’m happy to read that this came at exactly the right time for you, Diana.
Good luck with creating your website!
Great topic!
I often catch myself staying too long in a loop with writing and rewriting… I think that #4 and #5 help me the most, mainly drawing on paper (often diagrams).
Ah yes, me, too. I can endlessly write and rewrite, too.
Thank you for stopping by, Thuy!
The idea that you aren’t trying to come up with “the” essential idea is a brilliant point. When you want everything you write to be ‘great’, it’s easy to get too caught up in trying to find the ‘perfect’ idea, rather than picking one of several important ones.
Yes, that was an eye-opener for me, too. When I get stuck it’s probably because I try to be too perfect, to write the definitive guide. 😉
Hi Henneke,
I’m Issa, a long-time reader and fan of your superb website. This post came right on time. The steps are concrete and actionable- I can’t wait to put them into use. I read and re-read your blog series on business blogging- they’re inspiring and immensely helpful.
I love how you concluded the post, too. I needed this reminder to keep an open-mind and think like a child.
More power and thank you for holding my hand while I learn how to walk (write).
All the best,
Issa
Hi Issa
Thank you for your lovely comment.
It’s not easy to think again as a child, but it’s rewarding. When we look at the world with fresh eyes, we see again the beauty in small things like a butterfly or a flower bud. It also stimulates our creativity and allows us to learn. A kid isn’t afraid to ask questions and stumble around 🙂
Happy writing!
This is an excellent post, and in a way it almost helps with content creation in itself. Say I come up with an idea, if I realise it’s too large for one post, cutting it down could mean breaking it into several posts…giving me content over a longer span of time! I’ll certainly be referring back to this post 🙂
That’s so true! Start with one unwieldy idea and turn it into a series of posts. This way, you’ll never run out of blog post ideas.
Thank you for your lovely comment, LJ. I appreciate it, as always 🙂
Hey Henneke,
This is a highly crucial topic for all bloggers because every niche has complex topics that we try to tackle on a day today basis as we create new content.
It is not very easy apart from the other blogging tasks we do on a regular basis. You have neatly broken down the working tips here!
I see that reducing clutter helps a lot. To me, it is always about clarity and being on point.
The more clutter we add, the more complex we make the topic (which is already complex in itsef).
Thanks for sharing these wonderful tips 🙂
Cheers,
Jane.
Yep, that’s so true. Clutter increases complexity.
Unfortunately, many bloggers recommend to write in-depth posts, so a lot of blog posts suffer from clutter and complexity.
I like keeping things simple. I’m glad you agree. Thank you for stopping by, Jane 🙂
Hi Henneke
Reducing the complex to simple… I can remember tackling this skill the first time at high school. I think it was called ‘précis’ and I found it hard.
Fast forward many years, and it’s still challenging! Writing (or drawing) something with impact often seems to build down to isolating ONE theme or question (as you point out) that makes sense to your audience.
That boils down to knowing your audience again, doesn’t it?
And then including just enough information for them to achieve something with it immediately.
Thanks again for a great post.
I love the Dan Roam quote — I’ve always been doodler, drawing or making notes in order to think :).
Hi Alison
It’s probably strange, but I can’t even remember having to do something like that at school, and I can’t remember either whether they taught any techniques for writing a précis.
The quote comes from Dan Roam’s newest book: Draw to Win. It’s quite a quick read – I think you might like it 🙂
Thank you for stopping by again!
Excellent post, Henneke. Maybe the right time to stop being curious and start writing could be added? For me, as a “truth seeker”, the going deep process easily gets too deep. But how exciting to go there! 🙂
Yes, that’s an excellent point. I think I use two tactics: (1) make the question small enough so I can answer it in 1,000 words and once I’ve answered the question I’m ready (and I can move on to the next question); (2) limit my time – a blog post has to be finished every Tuesday, and at some stage I have to stop researching so I can start writing and publish a post.