Have you ever read something that did not make sense to you? That's what happens when the writer of what you are reading  lacks clarity or the ability to communicate clearly.

It's important for your communications to be clear, to be easily understood, and not to confuse your audience. How do you achieve this type of clarity? There are a few ways.

<strong>1. Know what you are trying to say before you start writing.</strong> Remember in high school when you were taught about a thesis and its supporting points? That lesson should be ingrained in any writer's head. Always have a thesis (your premise or argument) and why you support it. It's helpful to jot down your thesis (for this piece—clarity is essential to communication) and then your top reasons for supporting it  (for this piece I jotted down too many words, not knowing what you really want to say).

<strong>2. Write simply.</strong> Often, clarity is compromised by wordiness or jargon or big words when smaller words would do just fine. It's tempting to stuff articles and blog posts with fancy words, and office speak, but what you end up doing is alienating the audience who may not be conversant in your world. So work to eliminate extra words and jargon. Instead, use plain language (for reference check the Center for Plain Language website).

<strong>3. Reread and edit everything before you make it public.</strong> Sometimes we write something and then look it over quickly before we hit "publish." It may make sense to us at that moment, but does it make sense to others? Taking the time to read something slowly, copy edit it, and make sure it says what we want it to say will go a long way in making sure it is clear to <em>others. </em>If possible, get another person to read your copy (a copy editor and/or proofreader)<em>.</em>