Here are my rules of thumb for improving communication on the EA Forum and in similar spaces online:
Say what you mean, as plainly as possible.
Try to use words and expressions that a general audience would understand.
Be more casual and less formal if you think that means more people are more likely to understand what youâre trying to say.
To illustrate abstract concepts, give examples.
Where possible, try to let go of minor details that arenât important to the main point someone is trying to make. Everyone slightly misspeaks (or mis⌠writes?) all the time. Attempts to correct minor details often turn into time-consuming debates that ultimately have little importance. If you really want to correct a minor detail, do so politely, and acknowledge that youâre engaging in nitpicking.
When you donât understand what someone is trying to say, just say that. (And be polite.)
Donât engage in passive-aggressiveness or code insults in jargon or formal language. If someoneâs behaviour is annoying you, tell them itâs annoying you. (If you donât want to do that, then you probably shouldnât try to communicate the same idea in a coded or passive-aggressive way, either.)
If youâre using an uncommon word or using a word that also has a more common definition in an unusual way (such as âtruthseekingâ), please define that word as youâre using it and â if applicable â distinguish it from the more common way the word is used.
Err on the side of spelling out acronyms, abbreviations, and initialisms. You donât have to spell out âAIâ as âartificial intelligenceâ, but an obscure term like âfull automation of labourâ or âFAOLâ that was made up for one paper should definitely be spelled out.
When referencing specific people or organizations, err on the side of giving a little more context, so that someone who isnât already in the know can more easily understand who or what youâre talking about. For example, instead of just saying âMacAskillâ or âWillâ, say âWill MacAskillâ â just using the full name once per post or comment is enough. You could also mention someoneâs profession (e.g. âphilosopherâ, âeconomistâ) or the organization theyâre affiliated with (e.g. âOxford Universityâ, âAnthropicâ). For organizations, when it isnât already obvious in context, it might be helpful to give a brief description. Rather than saying, âI donated to New Harvest and still feel like this was a good choiceâ, you could say âI donated to New Harvest (a charity focused on cell cultured meat and similar biotech) and still feel like this was a good choiceâ. The point of all this is to make what you write easy for more people to understand without lots of prior knowledge or lots of Googling.
When in doubt, say it shorter.[1] In my experience, when I take something Iâve written thatâs long and try to cut it down to something short, I usually end up with something a lot clearer and easier to understand than what I originally wrote.
Kindness is fundamental. Maya Angelou said, âAt the end of the day people wonât remember what you said or did, they will remember how you made them feel.â Being kind is usually more important than whatever argument youâre having.
This advice comes from the psychologist Harriet Lernerâs wonderful book Why Wonât You Apologize? â given in the completely different context of close personal relationships. I think it also works here.
Here are my rules of thumb for improving communication on the EA Forum and in similar spaces online:
Say what you mean, as plainly as possible.
Try to use words and expressions that a general audience would understand.
Be more casual and less formal if you think that means more people are more likely to understand what youâre trying to say.
To illustrate abstract concepts, give examples.
Where possible, try to let go of minor details that arenât important to the main point someone is trying to make. Everyone slightly misspeaks (or mis⌠writes?) all the time. Attempts to correct minor details often turn into time-consuming debates that ultimately have little importance. If you really want to correct a minor detail, do so politely, and acknowledge that youâre engaging in nitpicking.
When you donât understand what someone is trying to say, just say that. (And be polite.)
Donât engage in passive-aggressiveness or code insults in jargon or formal language. If someoneâs behaviour is annoying you, tell them itâs annoying you. (If you donât want to do that, then you probably shouldnât try to communicate the same idea in a coded or passive-aggressive way, either.)
If youâre using an uncommon word or using a word that also has a more common definition in an unusual way (such as âtruthseekingâ), please define that word as youâre using it and â if applicable â distinguish it from the more common way the word is used.
Err on the side of spelling out acronyms, abbreviations, and initialisms. You donât have to spell out âAIâ as âartificial intelligenceâ, but an obscure term like âfull automation of labourâ or âFAOLâ that was made up for one paper should definitely be spelled out.
When referencing specific people or organizations, err on the side of giving a little more context, so that someone who isnât already in the know can more easily understand who or what youâre talking about. For example, instead of just saying âMacAskillâ or âWillâ, say âWill MacAskillâ â just using the full name once per post or comment is enough. You could also mention someoneâs profession (e.g. âphilosopherâ, âeconomistâ) or the organization theyâre affiliated with (e.g. âOxford Universityâ, âAnthropicâ). For organizations, when it isnât already obvious in context, it might be helpful to give a brief description. Rather than saying, âI donated to New Harvest and still feel like this was a good choiceâ, you could say âI donated to New Harvest (a charity focused on cell cultured meat and similar biotech) and still feel like this was a good choiceâ. The point of all this is to make what you write easy for more people to understand without lots of prior knowledge or lots of Googling.
When in doubt, say it shorter.[1] In my experience, when I take something Iâve written thatâs long and try to cut it down to something short, I usually end up with something a lot clearer and easier to understand than what I originally wrote.
Kindness is fundamental. Maya Angelou said, âAt the end of the day people wonât remember what you said or did, they will remember how you made them feel.â Being kind is usually more important than whatever argument youâre having.
Feel free to add your own rules of thumb.
This advice comes from the psychologist Harriet Lernerâs wonderful book Why Wonât You Apologize? â given in the completely different context of close personal relationships. I think it also works here.