Simply Well Said

Write at a sixth-grade level. Or maybe eighth. If you work in communications long enough, you’ll hear some version of this advice sooner or later, usually delivered with the calm confidence of a rule everyone else seems to already know.

And if it’s the first time you’ve heard it, your reaction may be immediate: Excuse me? Sixth grade? This isn’t a picture book. We’re talking to adults here. To residents, clients, stakeholders, professionals. Maybe even people with advanced degrees.

But readability is not about writing for children, and it’s not about dumbing anything down. It’s about writing in a way the widest possible audience can understand. It means respecting the reality that people may be busy, distracted, disabled, overwhelmed, learning the language, or reading on a screen where attention is already in short supply.

Readability is really about access. In public-facing communication, that is everything. It shapes whether someone understands what you offer, what they need to do next, and whether they feel the message was meant for them in the first place.

Strong and Clear

It’s also a myth that simple writing makes you sound less serious. Usually the reverse is true. Clear, succinct communication has force. It builds trust, sharpens your message, and gives people the confidence to keep reading instead of checking out halfway through.

Readability is one of the best bargains in communication. Once you understand the principle, you start noticing how much unnecessary friction is built into everyday outreach: webpages that bury the point, flyers that sound like policy memos, emails that take three sentences to say what one could have said plainly. Little obstacles, everywhere. And each one asks the reader to do more work than they should have to.

The struggle is real. If someone cannot quickly understand a housing program, a grant opportunity, a health notice, a school update, or a public meeting announcement, the message has failed before it ever had a chance to help. Clear writing cannot solve every communication problem, obviously, but it does give people a fair shot.

Clues on the Page 

A readability tool can be useful, sure, but you don’t need special software – in fact, you might be better off without it. Chances are, you know your community better than any standardized algorithms can. Tap into your specialized knowledge and empathy, and you’ll quickly learn to spot the where your writing starts putting unreasonable demands on your readers.

Some of the biggest readability snags are not dramatic. They are just habits. Here are a few of the most common red flags:

Long, winding sentences.

If a sentence takes too long to make its point, the reader has to carry too much to get to the payoff. Shorter sentences are easier to follow, especially on screens.

Jargon and insider phrasing.

Words that sound normal inside your organization may mean very little outside it. Look carefully at your communications and be ruthless about swapping out anything with even a hint of corporate-speak.

Passive voice.

Look out for sentences that hide the doer: The form was submitted yesterday. The policy has been updated. Mistakes were made.  Active voice is much clearer: We submitted the form yesterday. Staff updated the policy. We made mistakes.

Abstract language.

When writing leans too hard on words like “implementation,” “capacity,” “facilitation,” or “utilization,” it starts to drift away from everyday understanding. Concrete words do a much better job.

Burying the point.

Do not hide the point in the fourth sentence when it could live in the first. People should not have to dig for the reason they are reading.

Fine Tuning.

Take another look at familiar phrasing, and see if there’s another, simpler way to say something, such as:

Instead of “prior to”
Say “before.”

Instead of “utilize”
Say “use.”

Instead of “Additional assistance may be available.”
Say “You may qualify for more help.”

Instead of: “The application must be completed and submitted.”
Say: “Complete and submit the application.”

These are not dramatic changes, but the message you’re sending is instantly stronger and less likely to be misunderstood.

The Bottom Line

Readable writing is not lesser writing. It is considerate writing. It meets people where they are and respects the reality of how most reading now happens: quickly, digitally, and with a dozen other things competing for attention. For organizations trying to inform, invite, reassure, or serve the public, it is one of the simplest ways to make outreach more effective.

So yes, aim lower than your ego might prefer. Not because your readers are small, but because the window for understanding is. And when you make that window a little wider, your message has a much better chance of getting through.