Bringing Clarity to Complexity in Technical Writing

 How many of us have been raised to worship at the altar of the K.I.S.S. principle?

 Keep It Short and Simple. Or, the less polite version: Keep It Simple, Stupid.

They both amount to the same thing: the fewer the choices or detail provided, the more likely a process will be successfully understood. And there’s actually science behind the concept: Hick’s Law, which provides the psychological findings underpinning K.I.S.S., is followed in much of our world, from home appliance controls to restaurant menu design. So usually, a K.I.S.S. approach results in more clarity.

 That’s all good. But things get murky when the information you need to describe is neither short nor simple. Or when nuance and detail make up vital parts of the story.

Here’s how we deal with complex concepts and data in technical documents, but still using a K.I.S.S framework. 

To start with: no matter how complex your communications task, the basic K.I.S.S. principle still applies - in fact, it possibly matters even more. The important thing to recognize is that keeping it short and simple is a relative concept.

1.     Short: Focus on what matters in a given context.

Every single idea or concept or event or thing is supported by its own army of facts and data. K.I.S.S. means to take a selective approach to avoid overwhelming and confusing your reader (and to fit into page limits where that’s an issue). Simplification in this context means to minimize the information you’re providing, to include only the data needed for the given context or application. You need to really think about why you’re including a fact or data element before you do. Is it necessary, or merely interesting? Only include what’s necessary.

Writing a report or white paper? Focus on the abstract or purpose of the paper, and include only the data needed to support those goals. Leave out facts and data that aren’t relevant, or include as appendices if the reader wants to know more.

Writing for a particular audience or reader? Consider their interests or concerns and limit the information to what they need to know.

Responding to an RFP or funding submission? Directly answer the questions being asked, in the order they’re asked. Don’t supply other seemingly unrelated information no matter how interesting you think it is, unless there’s a real connection (in which case, spell out why you’re including it).

 2.     Simple: don’t make your readers work hard.

Organize your content so it has a logical flow. Make sure it raises - then answers - questions and fills in gaps in the right order so the reader isn’t left guessing. Re-read it several times, preferably after sleeping on it. Re-organize until it flows smoothly.

Give your readers a roadmap up front to your document’s outline, then follow it.

Tell your readers what they’re reading and why it’s relevant, as they go. Don’t make them work to understand how to connect information: tell them why something matters or is important. Don’t just dump in raw facts: link them to conclusions or lessons learned.

 3.     A picture’s worth a thousand words.

The more technical your content, the more important it is to use visuals. Whether they depict processes, designs, results or other complex concepts, visuals will help you meet both the Short and Simple goals. But make sure the visual is clear, and includes adequate captions and labels describing what is being shown, or it may lead to more confusion and effort for the reader.

4.     Use headings to make key points.

Headings are the secret ingredient to making K.I.S.S. really work with complex documents. They’ll do a number of good things for your writing:

-       They’ll provide both the structure and roadmap to your document.

-       They’ll draw attention to the main points of your argument or proposal.

-       They don’t need to be full sentences, so in a handful of words they can sum up what would otherwise require more space.

-       They give your readers a break (no one ever complained that a document was easy to follow). 

Of course, given their prominence and brevity, getting the headings and subheadings right becomes critically important. But once you start including them, you’ll see how effectively they can highlight and summarize the main themes of your report or proposal. 

5.     Don’t ramble.

The more complex the information, the more important it is to follow the basics of clear writing. Just following these two rules alone will make it easier for readers to get your point:

-       Don’t use run-on sentences. Once you have a decent draft, go back and chop up any long sentences into pieces.

-       Use only one main thought per paragraph.

Conveying complexity in a way that makes your information logical and accessible is undeniably one of the hardest writing challenges there is. But follow the discipline of a K.I.S.S. approach and you’ll end up with more organized content, clearer explanations, and grateful readers.