Making Project Briefs Easy to Understand

No one is waking up at 7am, sipping coffee, thinking, “Wow, I really hope someone explains holistic wealth architecture today.” People want clarity. They want content that feels like a conversation, not a lecture. They want to understand what you’re saying the first time they read it. Write like you're talking to a real person. Not trying to win a Pulitzer. - Use short sentences. - Cut the jargon. - Sound like someone they’d trust with their money, not someone who spends weekends writing whitepapers for fun. Confused clients don’t ask for clarification. They move on. Here’s how to make your content clearer: 1. Ask yourself: Would my mom understand this? If the answer is “probably not,” simplify it until she would. No shade to your mom, she’s just a great clarity filter. 2. Use the “friend test.” Read it out loud. If it sounds weird or overly stiff, imagine explaining it to a friend at lunch. Rewrite it like that. 3. Replace jargon with real words. Say “retirement income you won’t outlive” instead of “longevity risk mitigation strategy.” Your clients are not Googling your vocabulary. 4. Stick to one idea per sentence. If your sentence is doing cartwheels and dragging a comma parade behind it, break it up. 5. Format like you actually want them to read it. Use line breaks. Add white space. Make it skimmable. No one wants to read a block of text the size of a mortgage document. Writing clearly isn’t dumbing it down. It’s respecting your audience enough to make content easy to understand. What’s the worst jargon-filled phrase you’ve seen in the wild? Let’s roast it.

Most people assume communication is about sharing information. It’s not. It’s about making sure the right people actually care and act. And yet, most internal messages get ignored because: - They’re too long (nobody has time). - They’re too vague (what’s the point?). - They bury the key takeaway (no clear action). Want to get leadership’s attention? Your team’s buy-in? Faster approvals? Don’t send long Slack messages or emails hoping they’ll “get it.” Try communicating like an executive: clear, concise, and actionable. How? 1) Lead with the headline. Instead of “Here’s some background on the situation,” start with: “We need to make a decision on X by Friday. Here’s what you need to know.” Decisions happen faster when no one has to dig for the point. 2) Be brutally concise. Instead of a wall of text, write: “Key update: [X]. Next step: [Y]. Need from you: [Z].” If it takes more than 10 seconds to skim, it’s too long. 3) Make action crystal clear. Instead of “Let me know your thoughts,” say: “Please approve/reject this by EOD Wednesday.” If you don’t set the expectation, you’ll get ignored. 4) Match the medium to the message. Instead of sending a complex update over Slack, ask: “Would a quick call make this easier?” Not everything should be an email. Not everything should be a meeting. Your ideas don’t just need to be good. They need to be impossible to overlook. Stop sending noise, and start communicating for impact.

Hate how boring and time-consuming documentation feels? Yeah, same. But here’s the thing: the more you avoid it, the more you hurt your future self and miss opportunities to showcase your skills properly. So if you want to make documentation less painful (and actually useful), here are 6 tips I use with my clients to make it faster, clearer, and more impactful: 1. Start with an overview What’s the purpose of your project? What problem did it solve? Just 3–4 lines to set the stage. Make it easy for anyone to understand why it matters. 2. Walk through your process Break down the steps: How did you collect the data? How did you clean, analyze, or model it? What tools or methods did you use? This shows how you think and how you solve real-world problems. 3. Add visuals A clean chart > a wall of text. Use graphs, screenshots, and diagrams to bring your work to life. (And bonus: you’ll understand it faster when you come back later.) 4. Show your problem-solving What roadblocks did you hit? How did you fix them? Don’t hide your struggles, highlight them. This is where your value really shines. 5. Summarize your results What did you find? Why does it matter? What’s next? Answer these three questions clearly and your audience will instantly get the impact of your work. 6.  Use a structure that makes sense Try this flow: Introduction → Objectives → Methods → Results → Conclusion → Future Work Simple. Clean. Effective. P.S: After every milestone, take 5 minutes to update your notes, screenshots, or results. Turn it into a habit. ➕ Follow Jaret André for more data job search, and portfolio tips 🔔 Hit the bell icon to get strategies that actually move the needle.

Project manager pro tip: → Don't speak more. Speak clearly. Effective PMs aren't always the loudest in the room. They're calm, understood, and seeking action. Communicating precision = building trust. Here's how you keep your messaging tight AND effective: 👉 Lead with what matters most What's changed? What's at risk? What's needed? Make your point(s) in the first, 30-seconds or less sentence. 👉 Default to one-pagers Doesn't matter if it's a status update, escalation, or something in between. Leaders and teams want clarity. Not complexity. Make your messages brief and impactful. Use scannable tactics like bullets, bolding, and white space to draw eyes to the right places in correspondence. 👉 Stop overexplaining and start answering If you find yourself talking in circles, take a moment and pause. Then ask "is more context needed or can we talk the path forward?" This small switch shows awareness and respect for your audience's time. It also allows you to get them in the game, and that's essential for progress. Project managers don't need to say more. They need to communicate what matters. Do it well. Say less. 🤙

We see a ton of creative briefs at GetAds, so this post made sense to dissect what makes a brief, a great one. It’s not just about filling in the blanks → it’s about setting up your team for success. Let’s break it down: 1️⃣ Clarity Over Complexity  ↳ A strong creative brief is concise, free of jargon, and gets to the point. Overloading it with unnecessary details only slows the process and creates confusion. Focus on simplicity without sacrificing purpose. 2️⃣ Start with the Why  ↳ The purpose of your campaign should be crystal clear. Why does this campaign exist? What problem does it solve for your audience? This gives your team direction and creates alignment from the start. 3️⃣ Know Your Audience  ↳ Go beyond demographics. Understand what motivates your audience, their pain points, and aspirations. The deeper your understanding, the more your creative resonates. 4️⃣ Define Success  ↳ Establish clear, measurable goals. Whether it’s increasing CTR, driving conversions, or boosting brand awareness, everyone on the team should know what success looks like. 5️⃣ Inspire, Don’t Dictate  ↳ While a brief provides structure, it should also leave room for creativity. Share tone or examples for guidance, but avoid being overly prescriptive. Creativity thrives in flexibility. 6️⃣ Pinpoint the Message  ↳ What’s the single most important takeaway? If your message tries to do too much, it risks losing its impact. Keep it focused and powerful. 7️⃣ Deadlines + Deliverables  ↳ Be explicit about deadlines and formats. Ambiguity derails projects. Set expectations early to keep everything on track. Why it matters: A well-crafted brief saves time, aligns your team, and sets the stage for impactful work. Great creative starts here—it’s non-negotiable. Found this helpful? Like, follow, and share ♻️ so others can too! ps. struggling with creative bottlenecks? We can help.