When confronted with complex, detailed information, its frequently necessary to simplify in order to communicate effectively.
Whether in a proposal, tender, or at a presentation, clear and simple information will make far more impact.
Here are some tips and techniques which you will find work well to simplify complex information and convey your meaning.
Flowcharts
High level, simplified and generalised representations of complex and detailed processes not only help you get your message across, but also position you as an expert who sees not just the trees, but the forest.
Diagrams
A simplified, diagrammatic representation of an issue or problem is a great technique to get the message across.
Pie charts, quadrants, Venn diagrams, and so on - each is a really useful way of extracting important concepts from the detail, and presenting information is way people will understand.
Graphs and charts
These are great ways to simplify numeric data - visual representations help your audience to take aboard the meaning rather than becoming lost in the data.
De-clutter figures
Clean up and get focus on your message by reducing complexity: eliminate unmeaningful decimals, currency symbols, round numbers off, calibrate columns into $ or ‘000s rather than presenting cluttered complexity.
By reducing the complex to simple and minimising visual “junk”, you will be vastly more effective in getting your message across.
Your quest is to reduce the number of characters an audience has to process to extract meaning.
Future eTips will cover specific ideas in each of these areas.
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