Our Thinking: Communicate for Now
As wayfinders, clarity is our business.
We help create spaces that are functional and welcoming. We design things in a way that makes people’s lives easier. We remove obstacles and provide the right sign posts to help people to find their way with minimal fuss.
To do all this well takes numerous skills, including communication. Specifically, clear and succinct communication.
Communication that prioristises clarity over verbosity stands out. It cuts through the noise of unnecessary jargon, repetition and redundancy. It purposefully reduces confusion and focuses on comprehension. It does everything to help, not hinder.
While the world around us may become more layered, purposefully convoluted and esoteric, as communicators we must fight against this impulse. We have to come back to the very basics of effective communication:
What are we saying
To whom are we communicating
How we are inspiring action
Which brings me to the overuse of useless words. Yes, it is possible to overuse words. One of these I see all regularly is “currently”.
“Currently” indicates something is happening in the present moment. It provides a time constraint and context. More often than not, its use is also redundant.
Consider the following examples. Instead of saying “currently, I am working on a project,” one could simply say “I am working on a project.”
Similarly, the phrase “applications are currently closed” is fundamentally flawed. Of course they’re closed “currently” – the inclusion of “closed” indicates this on its own without the addition of unnecessary words.
In our line of work, we have many constraints to negotiate. Comprehension needs to be achieved quickly by those with varying literacy levels and accessibility needs. Directions need to be conveyed with minimal intervention in a finite space. We help people navigate challenging environments. We should be doing the heavy lifting for them and removing complexity, not adding to it.
What we say and how we present it matters. Too many of us fill our sentences, meetings and conversations with clunky, useless and pretentious words and phrases.
If in doubt, use the wayfinding checklist for communicating with clarity:
Less is more – Where are you doubling down on meaning? Find it and fix it.
Provide the context – Put things in logical order, then you won’t need to explain what’s next. Make it clear what’s important for now and for what’s to come.
Remember to speak human to human – We aren’t robots (yet). Find the balance between professional and personal. Keep it consistent. No mess, no fuss.
Cut the Crap – Keep the Quality
What unnecessary words or phrases would you like to see eliminated? Tell us in the comments so we never use them again.