The enemy of crisp, compelling communications is complexity.

Most organizations try to throw everything into their communication messages. Then, when messaging gets circulated around the organization for review and approvals, more words are invariably tossed in.

It is the death knell of effective messaging.

The reality is that to communicate everything is to communicate nothing. Just like brilliant artwork depends on the white space, so too does your messaging and storytelling. The negative, white space makes the surrounding colour pop, and brings balance and definition to the composition. This is necessary to create structure, and symbolizes the restraint that makes messages heard.

It’s the difference between this:

And this:

Communicators need to be brutally judicious with their use of words and ideas. This takes time. It takes guts. And it’s worth it.