Communication is messy. You think you’ve explained a project perfectly, but three days later, your team is running in the opposite direction. It’s frustrating. Most of us overcomplicate things because we’re afraid of sounding too simple, but the reality is that clarity is a superpower. If you can’t say it clear say it loud, you’re basically just making noise.
Think about the last time you sat through a corporate presentation. Was it filled with "synergistic alignment" and "leverages"? Probably. Did you remember any of it five minutes after leaving the room? Probably not.
Complexity is often a mask for uncertainty. When people don't know what they're talking about, they use big words. Real experts—the ones who actually move the needle—do the opposite. They strip away the jargon until only the truth remains.
The Psychological Weight of Being Clear
There’s this thing called "cognitive ease." Our brains are lazy. Evolutionarily speaking, we want to conserve energy. When we hear something simple and direct, our brains process it quickly and tag it as "true." When something is convoluted, we get suspicious. We start looking for the catch.
Saying it clear means you value the listener's time more than your own ego. It’s about removing the friction between your brain and theirs. You've probably heard of the "Flesch-Kincaid" readability tests. These aren't just for grade schoolers. Some of the most successful CEOs in the world, like Warren Buffett, write their annual letters at an 8th-grade reading level. Not because their audience is uneducated, but because high-level investors don't want to dig through a mountain of fluff to find the facts.
But clarity is only half the battle. You also have to say it loud.
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Now, I don't mean literally shouting at people in the hallway. That’ll just get you a meeting with HR. Saying it loud is about conviction. It’s about standing behind your message with enough volume—metaphorically speaking—that it cuts through the digital distractions of Slack, email, and TikTok. If you whisper your best ideas, don't be surprised when nobody listens.
Breaking the Fear of Being "Too Simple"
A lot of professionals suffer from a weird kind of "intellectual insecurity." They think if they don't use the latest industry buzzwords, people won't think they're smart.
Honestly? The smartest person in the room is usually the one who can explain a quantum physics concept to a five-year-old.
Let's look at real-world examples of how this plays out in business. Take Steve Jobs. When he introduced the iPod, he didn't talk about megabytes or spinning disk hard drives. He said, "1,000 songs in your pocket." That is the epitome of the say it clear say it loud philosophy. It was clear (you knew exactly what it was) and it was loud (it was a bold claim that changed the industry).
Why Most Internal Comms Fail
Most internal memos are where good ideas go to die. They are buried under "pursuant to our previous discussion" and "regarding the aforementioned initiatives."
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If you want your team to actually do something, you have to be blunt. Use active verbs. Avoid the passive voice like the plague. Instead of saying "It has been decided that the project will be delayed," say "We are moving the deadline to Friday because the software isn't ready."
It’s honest. It’s direct. It’s clear.
The Art of Increasing Your "Volume" Without Yelling
So, how do you actually "say it loud" in a professional setting? It comes down to frequency and format.
One of the biggest mistakes leaders make is thinking they only need to say something once. Repetition is the mother of clarity. Marketing experts call this the "Rule of 7"—someone needs to hear a message seven times before they actually internalize it.
- Vary your channels. Don't just send an email. Mention it in the stand-up. Put it in a Slack channel. Write it on a whiteboard.
- Use visual metaphors. Our brains process images 60,000 times faster than text. If your message can be a simple chart or a stick-figure drawing, do it.
- Tell a story. Facts tell, but stories sell. If you're trying to push a new safety protocol, don't just list the rules. Tell the story of the time someone almost lost a finger because they skipped step three.
People remember stories. They forget bullet points.
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Dealing with the Pushback
You might get some side-eye. Some people will think you're being "too aggressive" or "too basic." That’s okay. In fact, it's usually a sign that you're actually reaching them. Nuance has its place in a laboratory or a philosophy classroom, but in the fast-paced world of business and leadership, nuance is often just an excuse for indecision.
Practical Steps to Mastering the Say It Clear Say It Loud Approach
If you’re ready to stop being ignored and start being understood, you need a system. You can't just wing it and hope for the best.
- The "So What?" Test. Before you send any communication, ask yourself: "If I received this, would I care?" If the answer isn't immediately obvious in the first two sentences, rewrite it.
- Delete the Adverbs. Words like "very," "extremely," and "basically" actually weaken your message. "We are very excited" is weaker than "We are thrilled."
- Own the Silence. When you're speaking, don't fill the gaps with "um" or "uh." Say your piece clearly, then stop. The silence that follows a clear statement makes it "louder."
- Audit Your Jargon. Take your last three emails and highlight every word that wouldn't make sense to your grandmother. Replace them with human words.
- Identify the "Lead." In journalism, "burying the lead" means putting the most important info at the bottom. Move your most important point to the very first sentence.
Effective communication isn't about how much you say; it's about how much is heard. If you aren't getting the results you want, the problem probably isn't your team or your audience. The problem is the signal-to-noise ratio.
Stop hiding behind complex language. Stop being afraid of being bold. Start prioritizing the "clear" and the "loud," and you'll find that people actually start following your lead because they finally understand where you're going.
Next Steps for Implementation:
Start by reviewing your most important upcoming communication—whether it's a team meeting or a client proposal. Identify the one single action you want the audience to take. Strip away every sentence that doesn't directly support that action. Once you've thinned the herd, look at your delivery. Ensure that your key message is repeated at the beginning, the middle, and the end. This ensures that even if someone tunes out for a moment, they can't possibly miss the point.