I came across Meyer’s Law this morning and pass it on to you: “It is a simple task to make things complex, but a complex task to make them simple.”
In terms of public speaking, you have probably heard that it takes longer to prepare for shorter speeches than for longer speeches. The shorter the message, the more concise and precise the words need to be.
In terms of computing, what seems like a simple task (sending an email, updating your Facebook status) is in reality a series of complex tasks that are occurring behind the scenes. You don’t need to know a lick of PHP to tell the Facebook world that you just bought a chocolate donut — but someone knows how.
When it comes to shopping, neuroscience has shown us that our minds are working far faster than we think they are. They are recalling memories, events, making computations … all before we consciously decide which brand of peanut butter to buy.
As communicators, spouses, mentors, coaches — our task is to keep things simple. Too often, we take what ought to be a simple truth and make it fuzzy. We take what should be a simple apology and fumble it.
Shoot for simplicity.