We dare you to say less
Written by zoe ALEXIS WHITEHORN
I once watched a potentially game-changing advocacy campaign get buried in jargon and technical details. It had all the right data and nuance. But that throw-all-the-expertise-at-the-wall approach led straight to glazed-over eyes and disengaged audiences. Momentum squashed.
I'll be honest. That campaign manager could have been me at one point. 🤦♀️
Starting my career in policy, I loved the long and winding wonky road. I believed more detail meant more credibility, and my early training taught me to love a 10-dollar word instead of a perfectly perfect 10-cent word.
I learned a hard lesson over the years: As advocates, our role isn't to deliver information; it's to thoughtfully translate it and to push it out with purpose.
While it’s tempting to think our audience wants to dive into the weeds with us and talk jargon all day long, even a room full of policymakers doesn’t want complicated.
We all want crispy, clean moments to remember. We want to visualize the system, to feel the challenge and believe in the solution, neatly. Why? Because when everyone is overwhelmed, wonky doesn't win. Clarity does. 💡
Our most important job, especially in 2025, is to be generous with our audience's time. That means doing the hard work of making our message simple.
Your Superpower? Get Ruthlessly Clear.
Here are five ways to put that superpower to work:
Try the One-Sentence Test
Can you talk about your immediate goal in one simple, compelling sentence? If you can't boil it all the way down, your audience won't be able to remember your work either.
2. Lead With A Human
Data is necessary; it makes you credible. Stories, though, make your work memorable. Start with the human impact. Tell a story about one main character to make the big numbers feel real and urgent. 💞 A system-level challenge is just an idea until you show your audiences its effects.
3. Swap Out Jargon for Better Impact
This one’s all about empathy. Read your draft and ask: What assumptions am I making about what my audience knows? What technical language am I relying on?
For example, instead of saying you're "leveraging a two-gen approach with integrated services," try saying, "we support kids and their parents at the same time."
Ditching jargon and removing complexity makes room for specificity. It lets you more carefully shape what your audience learns.
4. Pick ONE Clear Call to Action.
Too many options lead to too much inaction. Don’t give your audience homework. Point them to one specific, achievable next step that makes them feel like part of the solution. ✅ Make it easy.
5. Run a Reality Check.
When it's all said and done, ask yourself: Would a human say this… out loud… to another human who isn’t already deep in the work? If the answer is no, it's time for one more edit.
This is what it means to be generous with your audience. Every choice to simplify and whittle away is an act of respect for your audience.⚡ It gives them the space to hear your message and the clarity to act on it.
So, for the rest of this year and next, here’s our one sentence for you:
We dare you to say less.
P.S. Pro tip: Instead of using AI to start your draft, ask it to check you on each of the above five tips. Tell it to be direct and not sugarcoat its responses. Yes, you read that right. Ask the robot to check if you sound human enough. (What a time to be alive!) 🤓
