When Donald Trump was elected in 2016, researchers analysed his language compared to other U.S. presidents.

The result genuinely surprised me. His unscripted speech ranked at a mid-fourth-grade reading level — the lowest of the last 15 presidents.

Obama spoke at about a ninth-grade level. Hoover and Carter hit the 11th.

And as we all know, Trump won.

Why?

His language was short, punchy, and easy to follow.

Like him or not, it proved something important: clarity beats complexity when you want to win people over.

The same is true for your content.

When you are writing emails and LinkedIn content, simplicity wins.

You are constantly competing for attention and the content that is easiest to digest will lead to more engagement.

If readers understand you straight away, they’ll keep reading, keep trusting, and eventually, keep buying.

So how do you write more clearly?

1. Use simple words

After you draft something, ask: “Could I say this in fewer words?” Nine times out of ten, the answer is yes.

2. Refine the AI output

ChatGPT is great for a first draft. But don’t copy-paste. Strip it back and remove all of the jargon. Make it sound like you.

3. Be cautious with Grammarly

It’s solid for catching typos. But some of its “improvements” add complexity. I ignore most of the suggestions it provides for this very reason.

4. Use Hemingway Editor

It highlights long, passive, or messy sentences. Shorter is nearly always stronger. It also prompts you to write at a lower grade, which again simplifies your message.

5. Keep tweaking

Good writing is rewriting. Run a couple of prompts or edits until the message feels sharp.

Simple writing doesn’t look dumb.
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It looks confident.
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It tells readers, “I respect your time. I want you to get this fast.”

Do you want some help in making your writing clearer?

Reply with CLEAR and I’ll send you three AI prompts you can use today to simplify your content.