Editor’s note: This blog post refers to some additional content that Gymnarctos Studios has not yet produced, including audio and video clips, as well as the ‘cheat sheet’. When those resources are ready, we will update the post.

Technology often uses big words and hard-to-understand terms. This creates walls that keep people out. At Gymnarctos Studios, we believe clear communication in tech is not just a bonus—it’s a must. Our fourth core value is “Clear Communication: Complex doesn’t mean complicated.” This shows how much we care about making sure everyone can access and understand our products.

Image describing Gymnarctos' core values: Accessibility Without Barriers, Inclusion by design, Human-Centered Technology, clear communication, continuous growth, and innovation with purpose

Why Clear Communication in Tech Matters

Let’s start with an example situation. A customer calls Gymnarctos Studios with a technical problem. Here, their Wi-Fi is down.

A cartoon drawing shows a brown bear wearing headphones, facing away from the viewer and looking at a computer screen. On the screen, a website window displays a white circle with black Wi-Fi signal waves inside, overlaid with a red circle and a diagonal red line, indicating "no Wi-Fi." To the right of the bear is a cellular phone with a green circle displayed on the screen, next to a blue paw print icon, indicating an active phone call with Gymnarctos Studios (represented by the paw print). This depicts the bear contacting Gymnarctos Studios for help with their Wi-Fi connection.

Technology should be for everyone, not just people who know special tech words. Clear communication in tech breaks down walls and makes new ideas open to all.

Here is what happens when we DON’t use clear communication.

This cartoon illustrates a negative example of clear communication in tech. In the first panel, Techbear (a bear wearing glasses) is on a phone call, indicated by a phone icon in his speech bubble. In the second panel, the customer bear reports a Wi-Fi issue, shown by a "no Wi-Fi" icon in his speech bubble, likely feeling frightened and upset about their computer not working. The third panel depicts Techbear's confusing response, visually represented by a complex math diagram, a battery, a power plug, a swirl, a bicycle, and the Wi-Fi signal symbol, instead of clear instructions. The intended instruction, "power cycle the router," is itself jargon that a frightened and upset user wouldn't understand. In the fourth panel, the frustrated customer bear has a speech bubble containing an interrobang (!?) and a scribbled cloud above his head, along with bared teeth and a frown, indicating that the Wi-Fi issue remains unresolved due to the unclear and jargon-filled communication that failed to address the user's emotional state.

When we talk and write clearly:

Users know what our products do and how to use them
Team members work better together
Ideas move freely between people
We solve problems faster because we understand them better
People trust us more

AUDIO VERSION: Listen to this section here

Research shows that clear communication helps more people use new technology. The number of users can go up by 135%! This is not just right—it also helps business grow.

VIDEO TIP: Watch our 2-minute explanation on why clear communication matters here

Making Things Simple Without Making Them Too Simple

Clear communication in tech doesn’t mean making things too basic. It means finding a good balance. We need to be correct but also easy to understand. Here’s how we do this at Gymnarctos Studios:

Pictures Help People Understand

The pictures help the customer understand. In this image, Techbear explains how to reset the router. This is an example of the clear communication style we use.

This cartoon illustrates the power of clear communication in tech. The first panel shows Techbear (a bear wearing glasses) on a phone call. The second panel shows the customer bear reporting a "no Wi-Fi" issue. The third panel demonstrates clear communication: instead of complex jargon, Techbear's speech bubble contains four simple, numbered steps with corresponding visual icons to guide the customer on how to fix their Wi-Fi. The steps are: 1. Power off the router (stylized "1" and "0" circle symbol). 2. Unplug the router (power plug icon). 3. Wait two minutes (timer icon and "2 min" text). 4. Plug the router back in (power plug icon). The fourth panel shows the happy customer bear with a speech bubble containing the Wi-Fi signal icon, a lightbulb icon (representing understanding the solution), and an exclamation point (representing success).

When we explain hard ideas, we use pictures along with words. Studies show our brains process pictures 60,000 times faster than words. We use:

Simple diagrams
Step-by-step flowcharts
Videos of how things work
Demos you can try yourself

These visual tools help with our talking and writing. They make sure hard ideas don’t stop people from understanding.

Cartoon depicting a happy brown bear wearing a black shirt and headphones, seen from the back as they look at a computer screen and smile. On the screen, another bear with purple eyeshadow, a blue bow, and a teal shirt is visible, suggesting a successful video call. This positive interaction is the result of clear communication in tech support, resolving the first bear's earlier "no wifi" issue.

Writing That Real People Can Understand

Our writing team follows these clear communication in tech rules:

We use active voice (“We fixed it” not “It was fixed”)
We explain hard words when we first use them
We give real-life examples
We put information in a logical order
We test our writing with many different types of users

TRY IT YOURSELF: Download our Clear Writing Checklist

Research shows that easier-to-read content makes users happier. When reading ease goes up by 10%, user happiness goes up by 7.9%.

How We Use Clear Communication Every Day

Clear communication in tech is not just talk—we do it every day at Gymnarctos Studios:

Making Screens Easy to Use

Our design team makes screens that explain themselves. We follow ideas from experts like Don Norman in his book “The Design of Everyday Things”:

Buttons that show what they do
Menus that are easy to find and use
Error messages that actually help
Help bubbles for harder features

INTERACTIVE DEMO: Try our interface simplicity test to see these principles in action

Support Team That Really Helps

Our support team shows clear communication in tech by:

Using plain words, not tech talk
Giving step-by-step help with pictures
Checking back to make sure problems are fixed
Asking for feedback to get better

AUDIO EXAMPLE: Listen to a sample support call showing our communication style

How Clear Communication Helps Our Business

Spending time on clear communication in tech helps our whole company:

Image description: Simple bar chart showing improvements in support tickets, onboarding, satisfaction scores, and user diversity

42% fewer help tickets each year
New team members learn faster
Happier customers (our scores went up by 18 points)
More different kinds of people using our products

Studies show that companies that focus on clarity keep more customers. They do about 18% better than other companies.

VIDEO: Watch our 1-minute explanation of how clear communication helped our business grow

Tools We Use For Clear Communication

We use these tools to keep our clear communication in tech strong:

Prowritingaid Editor checks if our writing is easy to read
Grammarly checks our grammar and clarity
UserTesting.com makes sure people understand us
Our team reviews all materials before customers see them

TRY IT YOURSELF: Check your own writing with this free readability tool

Join Us In Making Tech Talk Clearer

We at Gymnarctos Studios want you to join us in making clear communication in tech a priority. Whether you use our products, work with us, or make your own tech, let’s make tech talk better for everyone.

Quick Summary (TL;DR)

Clear communication makes tech better for everyone
We use pictures, simple language, and multiple formats
This approach helps users, teams, and businesses
You can use the same tools we do

DOWNLOAD: Get our Clear Communication Cheat Sheet (PDF, 2 pages)

Learn More About Clear Communication

Want to learn more? Try these resources:

Plain Language Association – Simple writing tips
Content Design London – Making content for everyone
The Good Documentation Project – Better tech writing

ASK US: Have questions about clear communication? Watch our FAQ video

What’s your experience with clear communication in technology? Tell us in the comments below!

This post is part of our Thoughtful Thursday series about Gymnarctos Studios’ core values. Next week we’ll look at “Continuous Growth: We’re always learning, always evolving.”

AUDIO VERSION: Listen to the full blog post here

Clear Communication in Tech: Complex Doesn’t Mean Complicated

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