Have you ever presented an idea or proposal only to have people say no without fully understanding it? You can see from their body language that before you are finished, they will say, “No.”

A friend of mine is a politician. One of the first things she taught me was that politicians and voters say no to complicated things. Why? First, they have limited time. Politicians are busy and spend most of their days in meetings and on the phone with donors and constituents. They have little time to read dense documents or decipher complicated topics. Second, complex things are often polarizing, such as climate change. It can create a political backlash. If you're trying to pass legislation, there will always be someone who doesn't like it; if you make something too complicated, it is an excuse to invent reasons not to support it. If the original proposal needs to be more succinct and the rebuttal is, guess which wins people over?

The key to getting to "yes" is to keep things simple. By presenting your ideas concisely and in an easy-to-understand way, you increase the chances that people will engage with them and be more receptive to your message. If the message isn’t clear, people won’t care; they may even think you are trying to fool them. 

Climate change is a great example. Even experts need help making a simple case that is relatable to large numbers of people. Unfortunately, people will likely ignore the problem when this happens because it takes away from their most valuable resource, time.

Simplicity in communication builds trust and credibility. When you communicate in a way that is easy to understand, people are more likely to see you as knowledgeable, trustworthy, and credible.

Some thoughts on getting your message across

1. Focus on the key points: Identify the most critical aspects of your idea or proposal and focus on those. Avoid unnecessary details until you earn the right to tell a complete story.

2. Keep it simple: Avoid jargon or technical and use everyday language everyone understands.

3. Provide context: Put your idea into a context relatable to your audience. Do this in business proposals too.

4. Use visuals: Visuals like charts, graphs, or diagrams can help simplify complex information and make it easier to understand.

Less is more and likely to allow you to be heard.