Nicole Bischoff

1. How to be CLEAR
in Complex Corporate Communication
Nicole Bischof @ IABC Eurocomm 2011 Turin
Nicole.Bischof@unisg.ch

2. „Everything that can be said, can
be said clearly.“
Ludwig Wittgenstein

3. „The problem with communication
is the illusion that it has been
accomplished.“
George Bernard Shaw

4. Agenda
 Why Clarity matters
 State of the Art
 Managing Clarity in Communication
 Examples
 Conclusion

5. Why care about clarity? An illustrating
scenario

6. Complexity of modern business
communication request for clear personal
communication
1. Change communication: dealing with uncertainty or „How
to motivate for change?“
2. Crisis communication: time constraints or „When to
address whom?
3. Strategy communication: vision, mission, goals and
values or „How to make your ideas clear?“
4. … many other complex issues

7. Why care? Importance of clarity for
business communication
“Clarity is business communications’
most sacrosanct topic.”
“Clarity is the most serious
communication problem in business.”
[Suchan & Dulek, 1990]

8. Knowledge communication in business
communication - implicit challenges
“The process of knowledge communi-
cation is the activity of interactively
conveying and co-constructing
insights, assessments, experiences,
or skills through verbal and nonverbal
means1.”
[Eppler 2007]

9. The context: Information versus
knowledge communication

10. Agenda
 Why Clarity matters
 State of the Art
 Managing Clarity
 Examples
 Conclusion

11. What are we talking about? Three
definitions of clarity
“The state, or measure of being clear,
either in appearance, thought or style;
lucidity.”
“Clearness or lucidity as to perception or
understanding; freedom from
indistinctness or ambiguity.”
“The state or quality of being clear or
transparent to the eye”

12. The concept of clarity has been studied
in different disciplines
Clarity

13. The „Hamburg Clarity Concept“
1. Simplicity 2. Structure
• Familiar words • Overview and
• Explained terms priorities
• Simple sentence • Logical sequence,
structure • Highlighting important
• Concrete and elements
specific
3. Conciseness 4. Stimulation
(moderate) (moderate)
• Focus on essentials • Personally adress
• Described briefly reader
• Short sentences • Provide examples,
images, quotes
• Use humour and fun
elements

14. Typical elements of clarity found in the
literature
Findings:
 Structure
 Unity & Coherence
 Eliminating the irrelevant
 Writing / speaking in the language of the audience
 Simplification & Disambiguation
Insights:
 Clarity of thought precedes clarity of expression
 Clarity is relative …to the audience that is addressed.
 BUT: A lack of systematic, actionable guidelines

15. Agenda
 Why Clarity matters
 State of the Art
 Managing Clarity
 Examples
 Conclusion

16. Our CLEAR formula
With regard to the targeted audience, the reason
C ontextualized for the communication of that knowledge, and its
urgency and importance.
Logical in the sense that elements build on one
L ogical another in sequence; accessible in the sense that it
is self-evident and intuitive.
E ssential Focus on the essential elements and show them in
overview before going into details.
A mbiguity free Interpretable in one way in order to avoid
misunderstandings or misapplication.
Fit the needs, preferences and foreknowledge of
R esonating the audience, knowledge must be made
actionable.

17. Managing and facilitating clarity
From Complex Mediators To Clear
• C omplicated • S tandards • C ontextualized
• O verloaded • T raining • L ogical
• M essy • A ccountability • E ssential
• P olysemic • R eviews • A mbiguity-free
• L inked • T ools • R esonating
• E verchanging • E xamples
• X traneous • R esources
Clarification Process

18. Contextualized

19. Negative example for contextual depiction

20. Contexualized corporate
communication: in line with company
objectives

21. Logical

22. Logical Structure: Use templates

23. Essential

24. Keep it essential: Remember clarity of
thought precedes clarity of expression

25. Ambiguity free

26. Negative example: clarity is lost if you
mix metaphors

27. Resonating

28. Resonance is missing due to
unattractive appearance

29. Resonance is achieved through a
multimedial and facts-oriented approach

30. Application: CLEAR e-mail example
C ontextualized previous e-mail excerpt, reason for writing
L ogical fact – meaning – needed action
E ssential one message per e-mail, one paragraph
words like soon, urgent, or our client are
A mbiguity free replaced by ‘next week’, ‘tomorrow’ and ‘Mr.
Stevens’
R esonating reply options are pre-listed

31. Application: CLEAR report example
C ontextualized authors stated, version stated, date stated,
contact details stated
L ogical summary – topic/pb. – findings - suggestions
E ssential less than 10 pages, half page summary
A mbiguity free Unspecific business buzz words are avoided
R esonating Right level of detail for target audience, action
points are categorized and put on a timeline

32. Agenda
 Why Clarity matters?
 State of the Art
 Managing Clarity
 Examples
 Conclusion

33. Four validation points of our CLEAR
formula for communication
Literature Audience
Review Surveys
Experts‘ Case Studies
Review (contact us)

34. Survey: Clarity in PowerPoint presentations
1 What are the most likely effects of a
bad, unclear ppt presentation on you?
2 Which of the following factors have the
most negative impact on clarity in ppt
knowledge presentations?
3 What are the most important issues to
consider when you communicate
knowledge with a ppt presentation?
4 Which of the following mechanisms is
most likely to increase the clarity of a
ppt presentation?

35. What are the most likely effects of an unclear
PowerPoint presentation?
Not likely Very likely
at all
You forget the presentation content
quickly.
You don’t listen to what the presenter
has to say.
You don’t take the presentation
seriously.
You perceive the topic as complex.
You get angry with the presenter.

36. Which of the following factors have the most
negative impact on clarity in PowerPoint
presentations?
Not important Very
at all important
Too much text on a single slide
Unclear presentation structure
Missing link between presenter’s
speech and slide text
Long phrases instead of keywords
Slide shown too quickly

37. What are the most important issues to consider
when you communicate knowledge with a
presentation?
Not Very
important important
Your main message/goal
Having a clear structure/slide sequence
Your speaking style
Involving the audience
Including good visualizations / graphics

38. Which of the following mechanisms is most likely
to increase the clarity of a PowerPoint
presentation?
Not likely Very likely
at all
Training the presenter
Rehearsing the presentation
Watching great presentations
Proof reading and style checking
Getting feedback on the presentation

39. Four validation points of our CLEAR
formula for communication
Literature Audience
Review Surveys
Experts‘ Case Studies
Review (contact us)

40. Customer service quality as main challenge
for companies such as AXA Insurance

41. AXA guide to clear letters:
Templates, checklists and examples

42. Swisscom‘s internal communication:
implementation of vision and mission

43. Clarity problem pattern as a tool of
analysis
unclear
Background Involved elements,
Foreknowledge Persons & inconsistency,
Customs Teams
redundance

44. Clarity problem pattern - examples
 Too Big to Fail: A document has been growing to a
point where everybody agrees with it, so no one wants
to modify it, although it contains many unclear
passages.
 Implicit Implications: A document is perceived as
unclear because its originators do not specify its
consequences for the addressed target group(s)
 Insight without Oversight: A document or
communication creates confusion, because it does not
provide the necessary big picture context for its
messages

45. Discussion
“Can you think of clarity problem pattern
in your work context?”

46. Agenda
 Why Clarity matters
 State of the Art
 Managing Clarity
 Examples
 Conclusion

47. Facilitating complex corporate
communication
 The magical number seven, plus or
minus two
 Examples, examples, examples
 Pre-structures
 Fore-knowledge and motivation
[Lutz 2011]

48. Conclusion: Clarity matters and can be
managed
 Complex corporate communication requires clarity.
 Clarity makes communication of complex managerial issues
more precise, efficient, user-friendly, and reduces
misunderstandings.
 Clarity in communication can be specified, analysed, managed,
and trained (CLEAR formula).
 Measurement and emotional issues of the clarity concept are
research gaps which should be explored further.

49. “Put it before them briefly
so they will read it,
clearly so they will appreciate it,
picturesquely so they will
remember it and, above all,
accurately so they will be guided by
its light.”
Joseph Pulitzer