Is Simple Dumbing Down? The Science That’ll Change How You Write

4 rewards of simple writing that will change how you write

I’ve been getting the same criticism for 20 years.

It happened again last week. I was writing about the importance of keeping communication simple. Using simple phrases and short sentences. When I received this strong objection:

You’ll end up with uneducated and lazy readers…writing about serious ideas can’t be written like a first grader.

It sounds plausible doesn’t it? If you are writing heavy content it’s hard to see how it can be boiled down to easy-to-read, simplistic phrases. Readers need to work hard if they are serious about learning. Won’t I be seen as an intellectual lightweight if my sentences are short? No writer wants to dumb down their content.

But what does the evidence say? Over recent years social scientists have been investigating these very questions. The results are clear. And they’ll change how you write.

1. It feels so good

Brain scans show when words are easy to understand, the pleasure part of the brain lights up.

Short sentences and simple words place a lighter load on the brain. It finds it easier and so can work faster. Complex writing involves more brain circuits. Even passive writing is harder on the brain than active. ‘Sweets are loved by all the children’ takes slightly longer to process than ‘children loved the sweets’.

We are wired to conserve energy and prefer what is easier. Readers like simple writing. It makes their brain smile. And gets the dopamine flowing. Ok so easy to read gets read. But what if you are after more than popularity? What if your ambitions are higher? You want to make an impact. Change minds. Shape people’s thinking.

Science shows you how to do that.

2. The effect of complexity on persuasion

You want to persuade your readers.

It’s natural to imagine impressive writing impresses. That if you write in a complex way readers will think you’re a smart thinker. So you include some advanced communication techniques. Fancy words. Long paragraphs. But the effect of making writing more complex is surprising.

Daniel Oppenheimer, a professor from Princeton University had a theory this didn’t work. So in 2005, he ran 5 experiments to test the effect of simple and complex writing. He asked participants to rate some writing samples.

His findings were striking.

When writing is clear and in simpler language, the author is rated as more intelligent. Nick Chater from Warwick University found that simpler explanations are more persuasive than complex ones. “Anything that makes a text hard to read and understand will lower readers’ evaluations of the text.” says Oppenheimer.

Why is simpler writing more persuasive? Triggering positive feelings makes readers more amenable to the points being made.

Marcel Just and his colleagues at Carnegie Mellon University researched complex writing. And found it caused more comprehension mistakes. It’s hard to be influenced by writing you don’t fully understand. Simple writing isn’t about dumbing down content but making the shift from unclear to clear. Once an idea is clear everything else becomes possible.

Dan & Chip Heath researched why some ideas stick in people’s minds and change society. And why others are forgotten and have no impact. In their book Make it Stick they explore a range of practitioners. Covering business, healthcare, education and across a range of countries. They conclude keeping writing simple is one of the core principles. If you want to make your ideas stick.

And if you want to be a writer who influences actions not just thoughts. Then the science is about to get even more intriguing.

3. How simplicity affects confidence

Simple writing affects people’s actions differently.

Professor Tsuyoshi Okuhara from Tokyo University tested the effect of simple writing on people’s confidence to act on the content. He asked 400 people, aged 40–69 to read guidance on how to exercise for better health. Half got the standard health instruction but the other half got an ‘easy-to-read’ version. The simplified content had shorter sentences and easier words. The change had a dramatic effect.

The simpler writing caused a rise in the feeling that readers wanted to do something about the content. It also increased their self-belief that they could do it. These results are astonishing. Simpler writing isn’t just easier to read. It has an internal effect on readers. Perhaps using less mental energy leaves some spare to think about taking action?

Rather than being a tactic to communicate with 1st graders. Science shows simple writing to be an advanced writing technique. It reminds me of Mark Twain wrote a long letter because he didn’t have time to write a short one!

But simple writing doesn’t just affect the reader’s self-belief. The impact goes even deeper than that.

4. How complexity excludes

Simple writing has a surprising effect on inclusion.

Hillary C. Shulman and her colleagues at Ohio State University looked at the effect of using jargon. In particular, they examined the effect it had on the reader and how they saw themselves. The results were dramatic. When the writing was harder to read, people saw themselves as outsiders. As not belonging to the community referred to.

This is a startling reward of simple writing. It makes readers feel included. They see themselves as part of the community. This has political implications. Both in how the elite uses communication to exclude. And in how community leaders like Martin Luther King use words to broaden their inclusion.

Simple isn’t easy to do. As the minimalist Steve Jobs explains “Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.”

But if by going simple you offer inclusion and impart self-belief. Isn’t it worth the effort?

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