How complex brands can achieve message clarity without losing depth

One of my favourite quotes is from Mark Twain. “If I had more time I would have written you a shorter letter.” I think it’s a killer line because it says two things. First, simplification and clarity take time. And second, no-one wants to read any more than is needed. Even from the man who wrote Tom Sawyer.

For brands with complex products or services from healthcare to technology, it’s a cruel truth that no-one is interested until you capture their interest. You might think that if you could just explain all of the specs and the features, people would understand the value. And yet, the moment you start listing them, their attention drifts.

The reason is (isn’t it always) human psychology. Decision-making depends on people being able to cognitively process the information in front of them and mentally bucket it into things that matter, and things that don’t. Pros and cons. Good and evil. You get the idea.

But when faced with too much information, our brains struggle. We can only hold so much in our working memory before we get overwhelmed or distracted. Too much detail, we get confused. Too many choices, and we can’t decide at all.

The answer, you’ll be relieved to know, is not to dumb it down. Instead, rather than being obsessed with simplicity, be obsessed with clarity.

Why people struggle with complexity

Our brains were just not set up to manage complexity well. Information overload makes it harder to process and act on what we’re hearing. Visual confusion makes it hard to focus. And too much choice can lead to decision paralysis.

Which means unfortunately in an increasingly noisy world, people would rather disengage when faced with overwhelming information, and instead go and watch Married At First Sight.

We saw this with the botched launch of Australia’s digital health system My Health Record back in 2018. When the government launched it as an opt-out system, the goal was to make health records more accessible and centralised. But the rollout was met with public concern over privacy and data security, stoked by health and privacy advocacy groups.

With mixed messages around a complex topic, many didn’t fully understand how the system worked, in particularly around who could access their data, and what this could be used for. Complex and unclear communication from the Government failed to address this, which led understandably to a lack of trust – which as we all know, means no. Ultimately nearly a million Australians chose to opt out.

It’s a classic case of how clarity matters. When dealing with something as important as health data, simply providing a tsunami of information and expecting people to be able to evaluate it in the face of conflicting information is not enough. It has to be framed in a way people can actually absorb.

Why simplicity isn’t the answer

Thanks to the thesaurus, it’s tempting to think that the answer to complexity is simplicity. But over-simplification can be just as dangerous, especially in industries like health and technology where nuance matters.

We saw this during the COVID-19 pandemic. At the start, mixed messages about masks, vaccines, and lockdowns led to widespread confusion and distrust. Early public health messaging oversimplified things—for example, blanket statements like  “masks don’t help” before later reversing that stance.  

Oversimplifying a complex and evolving situation made people sceptical of later advice. Clarity, on the other hand, would have meant saying, “Here’s what we know now, here’s what we’re still learning.”

It’s important to remember this in particular when making use of Generative AI which can handle high-level overviews, but risks misses depth and nuance. Brands that rely on AI-generated content for simplicity might find themselves blending in rather than standing out. Depth and expertise will become differentiators in an AI-heavy world, and clarity is what will make that depth accessible without losing meaning.

How to master clarity in messaging

So, if clarity is the goal, how do you get there? After all, as a subject matter expert it’s sometimes hard to work out where people are getting tripped up.

I think, like with most messaging, it helps to it begin with the “So what?” Why should your audience care? After all, you’re trying to capture attention, as that’s what is going to change minds. Finding one thing they’ll care most about will help you lead with impact, not explanation. 

In seeking this out, keep pressing for the why. This simple question, beloved of toddlers, is a secret weapon to getting right to the meat of why you can’t have a cookie (because it’s almost dinner, because I said so), and why you really should have your health records centralised so every doctor gets a complete picture of your health.

As i’ve done with this article, chunk information. People absorb information more easily when it’s broken down into structured, digestible sections, with nice big headings, and pictures that help explain the tricky things.

Use familiar analogies. While it’s apocryphal that ford said if he’d asked people what they wanted they would have said a faster horse, it does demonstrate that people do better when they understand context, Connecting complex ideas to something your audience already understands makes them easier to grasp.

Apple does this brilliantly – remember their famous 1000 songs in your pocket ad for the launch of the original iPod?  They take highly technical innovations and make them accessible. Instead of talking about CPU clock speeds and RAM, they say: “It’s 2x faster” or “All-day battery life.” Steve Jobs was a master of clarity—turning complex specs into benefits people could immediately understand.

Remember that in most cases you don’t get a single bite at the cherry. You’ll have time to spread your story out, so prioritise what matters. Not every detail needs to be shared at once. Focus on the most impactful information first, and then look to respond to follow up questions or provide more when your audience is ready for it.

Finally, ensure you test for clarity. Ask yourself or a test audience if they can repeat back the story after hearing it once. If they can’t quickly explain your message back to you, it needs refining.

Clarity as a competitive advantage

In a world where AI can generate endless content, true depth will set brands apart. But depth without clarity won’t cut through. But, just to reassure those who love spec sheets and features, clarity doesn’t mean reducing information—it means structuring it for impact. The brands that master this will be the ones people trust, engage with, and remember.