Michael Glatt

Communications · · 4 min

On being understood, not just seen

A short argument for plain language in organisations that have forgotten how to use it.

Portrait of an elderly man in a saffron turban, Rajasthan, India

Written by

Michael Glatt

Creative director, copywriter and travel photographer.

About

Placeholder essay. Visibility is cheap now. Comprehension is not. An organisation can be everywhere and still be a rumour about itself.

The remedy is unglamorous: say the true thing, in the order a human would need to hear it, using the words they already own. Then stop.

Everything else — the tone, the design, the media plan — is amplification. Amplifying a sentence nobody can follow only makes the confusion louder.

“An organisation can be everywhere and still be a rumour about itself.”