Be good clever

"Arguments are like eels: however logical, they may slip from the mind's weak grasp unless fixed there by imagery and style. We need metaphors to derive a sense of what cannot be seen or touched, or else we will forget"

Alain de Botton

The advice to be “clear not clever” is insidious.

It’s so often the advice because most people are not clear. But in their search for clarity they risk becoming unimaginative, dull, and forgettable.

You can’t afford to be forgettable and have your message slip from the weak grasp of your reader’s mind.

The type of clever that copywriters warn you about is the type that suffocates clarity.

Clarity = An imaginable, easily processed message

Answering important questions like:

• What is it?
• Who is it for?
• How is it different?
  
  

Bad clever = Anything that suffocates that message.

When you read bad clever writing, you’re reading the words of an egotist. They want to seem wise so they shift the focus from “will people understand me?” to “will people understand my wisdom?”

They don’t write for their reader, they write for themselves to the detriment of their reader. They don’t write clear snapshots of how their reader’s life might improve. They write selfies.

Bad clever is a desperation to:

• sound intellectual
• be congratulated
• sound professional
• seem creative
• sound sophisticated
• use complex structure
  
  

Ironically, they would seem wise if they wrote clearly, illuminating the dark complexity, helping people see things vividly and transparently.

Wisdom is seeing in the sense of understanding or perceiving deeply. A wise person sees beneath the surface, perceiving the underlying truths and principles others might miss. This sort of seeing involves a clear understanding, and so if brevity is the soul of wit, clarity is the soul of wisdom.

But although clarity helps us achieve wisdom and style we mustn’t mislabel dull copy as being clear. As much as people will bounce from clever, unfathomable copy they’ll bounce from clear, forgettable copy.

And so, to good clever.

Don’t be fooled by the word clever here.

Because good clever would be better described as:

• memorable
• interesting
• resonating
• engaging
• fun
  
  

When done well, these things don’t suffocate the clarity, they elevate it.

Here are six ways to elevate clarity and make things stick in the weak mind of your reader:

1. Simple analogies
2. Simple word play
3. Simple pictures
4. Vivid but familiar words
5. Vivid but familiar verbs
6. Simple rhythm 
   
   

Notice my call for simplicity and familiarity. Those two things will prevent the suffocation of clarity.

Examples from this very page:

"They don’t write for their reader, they write for themselves to the detriment of their reader. They don’t write clear snapshots of how their reader’s life might improve. They write selfies."

In this example I use the popular, simple, familiar concept of a selfie as an analogy for writing that focuses on the writer, not the reader. The analogy is set up and reinforced by the photographic term “snapshots”.

“This sort of seeing involves a clear understanding, and so if brevity is the soul of wit, clarity is the soul of wisdom.”

In this example I take the well known phrase “brevity is the soul of wit” and insert the topics of conversation, “clarity” and “wisdom”. Brevity is what copywriters call for when they say “use short words” and “write in short sentences” while “wit” broadly means “understanding” or “intelligence” with the modern narrower scope of mental sharpness related to humour.

And so I’m saying intelligence, perception, insight, wisdom and deep understanding already come from simply being brief and clear.

“Ironically, they would seem wise if they wrote clearly, illuminating the dark complexity, helping people see things vividly and transparently.”

In this example I paint a picture of darkness and light, the darkness relating to ambiguity and the light relating to clarity, therefore wisdom. The words “illuminating”, “dark complexity”, “see” and “vividly” and “transparently” are all brush strokes on my canvas.

“The advice to be clear not clever is dangerous insidious.”

In this example I replace the word “dangerous” with “insidious” to paint a vivid, sensory rich image in my reader’s mind. The word “dangerous” suggests a negative outcome, whereas the word “insidious” has connotations of something harmful that spreads subtly or stealthily, almost like a disease.

It suggests the negative effects may not be immediately apparent but, over time, can have a significant impact. It paints a vivid picture of how this advice, while seemingly harmless or even beneficial at first, can gradually undermine creativity and originality.

“When done well, these things don’t ruin suffocate the clarity, they improve elevate it.”

In this example I replace “ruin” with “suffocate” and “improve” with “elevate”. I think my replacements paint moving pictures because the new verbs are emotionally charged. After all, humans are moved by emotion.

It isn’t necessary to find hunt for these words in first drafts. Just get vomit your idea onto the screen first, then change upgrade the verbs later.

“As much as people will bounce from clever, unfathomable copy they’ll bounce from clear, forgettable copy.”

In this example I mirror the first description of bad copy with the second. Each description has three parts:

1. Alliteration in “clever” and “clear”.
2. A repeating “f” sound and “able” ending in “unfathomable” and “forgettable”
3. A repetition of “copy” which I found pleasing to hear.

To write like this you need two things:

1. A willingness to make non linear connections
2. A ruthless scrutiny of every word
   
   

As long as your messages are useful and beneficial, it’s your duty to stop them slipping from your reader’s weak mind.