{"id":4338,"date":"2021-03-01T15:50:40","date_gmt":"2021-03-01T21:50:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cooking2thrive.com\/blog\/?p=4338"},"modified":"2021-03-01T15:50:42","modified_gmt":"2021-03-01T21:50:42","slug":"let-me-be-clear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cooking2thrive.com\/blog\/let-me-be-clear\/","title":{"rendered":"Let Me Be Clear"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I\u2019ve been compiling a list of phrases I want to retire next\nyear and \u201clet me be clear\u201d is right up there near the top. How many times per\nweek can I listen to that phrase followed by a statement clearly intended to\nmuddy the water and not lose my mind? If you said, 10,472 you\u2019d probably be close.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s nothing wrong with the words or an intent to be\nclear. My problem is that the phrase is rarely used to mean the speaker wants\nto be clear. More often it means the speaker wants you to pay attention to a\nhalf-truth or full-fledged lie that creates the illusion they desire for you to\nsee. So enough with deliberate misuse, misrepresentation, and misdirection\nalready. Please stop!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s all be clear!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clarity is important. It\u2019s crucial for a recipe. Without clarity, you may not end up with the intended result. But we all speak using unique turns of phrase. What\u2019s crystal clear to me may not be clear to you. That\u2019s where consistent format, industry-specific terminology, and formulaic rules can help \u2013 think grammar for instance. But no matter how carefully we craft, what content we create, which words we write, and how we verbalize sentences, our communication is subject to each consumer\u2019s context. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clarity is even more important for health guidelines. It\u2019s critical\nwhen writing conclusions drawn from data. And each time we pull back, hedge, or\ntry to soften the message, we run the risk of confusing people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So how can we communicate clearly? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I cannot possibly outline a way to avoid all\nmisunderstanding, but I will give you five tips for drafting clear communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Determine the scope and purpose of the\ncommunication.<\/li>
  2. Identify and research your audience. Communication\nmust be delivered in language that will be easily understood using an accessible\nmethod.<\/li>
  3. Assume nothing. Draft every document, policy,\nand procedure as if nothing has preceded it and nothing will follow it. Write\nit as if it must stand on its own. Once the draft is done, document any overlap\nwith other relevant documents. Keep a log of this overlap. Reference other\nexisting documents and remove duplication when possible.<\/li>
  4. Put all pertinent facts that live in your head in\nthe draft. Once that all-inclusive version is written, review and pare down to essentials.\nIt\u2019s tempting to pare down first, but this creates one of the most common\nerrors I see \u2013 critical information is left out. Since the information is known\nto you, you are less likely to recognize its omission upon review.<\/li>
  5. Stick with the facts. Do not embellish or\ndiminish them. Resolve conflicting statements prior to publication. Be\nconscious of word choice, but recognize that you may not please everyone. It is\nbest to be concise and straightforward.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nI realize this topic may be a stretch for this\nblog, but I feel really hungry for clear, concise communication that I can rely\non for facts. I don\u2019t think I\u2019m alone in that. And, if you follow these tips,\nthere should be no reason to say, \u201cLet me be clear\u2026.\u201d And not hearing that will\nwork very nicely for me. \n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    I\u2019ve been compiling a list of phrases I want to retire next year and \u201clet me be clear\u201d is right up there near the top. How many times per week can I listen to that phrase followed by a statement clearly intended to muddy the water and not lose my mind? If you said, 10,472 … Continue reading “Let Me Be Clear”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[792,9],"tags":[3009,3008,392,3011,3010],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cooking2thrive.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4338"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cooking2thrive.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cooking2thrive.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cooking2thrive.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cooking2thrive.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4338"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.cooking2thrive.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4338\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4342,"href":"https:\/\/www.cooking2thrive.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4338\/revisions\/4342"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cooking2thrive.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4338"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cooking2thrive.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4338"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cooking2thrive.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4338"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}