[This is part of the series: 31 Persuasion Tips That I Learned From Scott Adams]
Simple explanations are more credible.
Notice I didn’t say “are truer.”
And I didn’t say: “are always best.”
All we are saying is that the simpler an answer or statement is, the more convincing it is.
In regard to marketing and branding, this fact also works in selling, as Donald Miller has pointed to.
To understand tragedy and suffering, the average person does not want to read 10 books on philosophy, and theology, right?
They want to shake their heads and say: “Well, bad things happen to good people, don’t they.”
The fact is that people want simple answers that are easy to understand.
Politicians have figured this out too.
PERSUASION TIP 28: Simple explanations look more credible than complicated ones.