Editor’s Note: In this occasional column for All Things Insights, consumer insights expert Colleen Funkey explores the six personas you can use to deliver on high impact work and move your insights career forward. The next persona that she examines is “The Clarifier.”
Persona 4: The Clarifier
“If you cannot explain something simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” These wise words are commonly attributed to Albert Einstein and serve as a reminder to be persistent in our pursuit of learning. Only with robust comprehension can we distill complex ideas into simple terms that bring clarity to others.
To understand we need to question
Clarifiers go beyond surface level understanding to interrogate a subject at its core. True understanding requires us to challenge assumptions and remain open to new perspectives. To get to clarity we must ask “why” repeatedly until we gain a depth of comprehension that allows us to organize complexity, not remove it. When we can identify the governing principles beneath surface level details, then we understand it well enough to explain it simply.
Earlier in my career, I worked on an iconic beer brand, one deeply woven into the fabric of American culture. For years, we conducted research to define the brand essence and cultural code. We landed on descriptors like “grit,” “authenticity” and “ambition.” Yet none fully explained why the brand continued to hold such a special place in the hearts of Americans or why consumers decades later, still proudly wear T-shirts displaying its iconic red and white logo. The problem we learned was not a lack of information, but a lack of true understanding. Only when we challenged our own assumptions and were open to seeing things differently (trying a non-conventional qualitative research approach that tapped into memories) did we fully grasp the deeper truth. Beneath the surface lay something far more aspirational and emotionally resonant: the idea of a “winning spirit.”
Recognizing this as the brand’s core essence was clarifying. It was the common thread running through the brand’s history and the lens through which all prior successes could be understood. Once articulated, briefing became more focused because we didn’t need to use a laundry list of words (surface level familiarity) to describe what the brand was about, we only needed two. The result was clearer and more resonant creative work and measurable brand equity improvements for the first time in many years.
Brand positioning = Clarity
“I wrote you the long version because I didn’t have time to write the short one.” –unknown.
When a brand leader or team cannot complete the sentence “my brand exists to…” or succinctly answer “why the world needs this brand,” there is an understanding problem. A lack of brand clarity inevitably shows up as a lot of words in a brief and confusion among consumers. Strong brand positioning is built on precise understanding, only then can it act as a unifying force to guide strategy, shape action and fuel brand growth.
Clarifiers are translators
To be a clarifier, you must know both your subject and your audience deeply so that you can build a bridge of understanding between them. Clarifiers recognize that meaning is shaped by perspective so they adapt their message to the context in which it will be received. They also understand that in an era of information overload, communicating with clarity depends on understanding cognitive processing limits.
According to Miller’s law, the human brain can hold only five to nine “chunks” of information at any given time. Organizing ideas into clear and digestible narratives and using plan language rather than jargon, improves comprehension and focus. With well-structured narratives and tailoring messaging to context, clarifiers reduce cognitive load and focus attention, thereby influencing what people hear, how they interpret it and the decisions they ultimately make.
Clarifiers turn insight into influence
Clarifiers are trusted translators who sharpen strategy, accelerate alignment and drive business impact, often finding themselves as C-suite “whisperers.” For consumer insights professionals, the ability to clarify complexity is a superpower, but like any capability, it requires constant training. Use the questions below (neatly folded into five digestible chucks) to deepen and organize your understanding and translate it with clarity:
1. Subject Mastery: Have you identified the governing principles beneath the details? And can you explain what this is really about in one sentence?
2. Structure: Have you organized your message into 5-7 meaningful chunks? Could someone summarize your message after hearing it once?
3. Language: Are you using plain, everyday language?
4. Simplicity: Can you say it in fewer words without losing meaning? Would someone outside your field understand? Could you explain this without slides?
5. Context: Have you considered what your audience cares about and already knows?
Click here for more columns from Colleen Funkey’s “6 Personas to Propel Your Insights Career” series (or see the stories below).
5. The Juggler
6. The Influencer
Video: “Transforming Complexity Into Clarity,” courtesy of Rich Horwath, Strategic Minds Podcast.
