Marketing Tools HQ

If you can’t explain your idea in 10 words or less, you don’t understand it well enough to sell it. This brutal truth separates successful communicators from confused ones. Complexity isn’t a sign of sophistication—it’s usually a symptom of unclear thinking.

The 10-word test forces radical simplicity. It strips away jargon, qualifiers, and hedging language until only your core message remains. And here’s the paradox: the simpler you can explain something, the more expert you appear. Confusion doesn’t signal depth—clarity does.

Why 10 Words?

Ten words is short enough to force brutal prioritization but long enough to communicate a complete thought. It’s approximately the length of a memorable tagline, a tweet’s core message, or the one sentence someone remembers from your entire presentation.

Research on cognitive load shows that people can hold about 7±2 chunks of information in working memory. Ten words sits right at this limit, making your message maximally memorable while remaining complete.

More importantly, if you can distill your message to 10 words, you can expand it to any length while maintaining perfect clarity. The reverse isn’t true—starting with complexity and trying to simplify rarely works.

The “Grandma Test”

If your grandma wouldn’t understand your 10-word explanation, your customers won’t buy it. This isn’t about intelligence—it’s about shared context and assumptions.

Industry jargon, acronyms, and insider terminology create barriers that make you feel smart while making your audience feel stupid. Your goal isn’t to impress people with your vocabulary—it’s to make them understand and act.

“We provide enterprise-grade cloud infrastructure solutions leveraging containerized microservices architecture” fails the grandma test spectacularly. “We make websites load faster so customers don’t leave” passes.

The 10-Word Formula

Effective 10-word explanations typically follow one of these proven structures:

Problem + Solution: “Customers leave slow websites. We make them fast. Sales improve.” (10 words)

Before + After: “You’re invisible online. We make you visible. Customers find you.” (10 words)

What + Who + Outcome: “We help small businesses turn website visitors into paying customers.” (10 words)

Pain + Relief + Result: “Email inbox chaos stresses you. Our system creates calm, organized efficiency.” (10 words)

Practical Applications

Elevator Pitch: When someone asks “What do you do?” you have about 10 seconds before their attention drifts. Your 10-word explanation should replace rambling job descriptions.

Instead of: “I’m a digital marketing consultant who specializes in helping businesses optimize their online presence through strategic content marketing, SEO, and social media management to drive engagement and conversions.”

Try: “I help businesses get found online and turn visitors into customers.”

Website Homepage: Your headline should pass the 10-word test. Visitors decide whether to stay or bounce in seconds. Clarity wins.

Sales Conversations: When prospects ask what makes you different, you need a 10-word answer that sticks. Anything longer gets forgotten.

Investor Pitches: “What does your company do?” should have a 10-word answer before you dive into market size and traction.

The Distillation Process

Start by writing everything you want to say about your idea, product, or service. Don’t hold back—get it all out.

Now remove every word that doesn’t directly contribute to understanding. Cut adjectives, qualifiers, and hedging language (“kind of,” “sort of,” “basically”).

Replace industry jargon with everyday language. If a 12-year-old wouldn’t understand a word, find a simpler one.

Combine related ideas into single, more powerful words. “Assist companies with achieving their strategic initiatives” becomes “help businesses succeed.”

Count your words. If you’re over 10, keep cutting. Force yourself to choose only the most essential words.

Common Mistakes

Don’t use your 10 words to list features. “Our platform includes analytics, automation, integration, and reporting with customizable dashboards” tells me nothing about what problem you solve or who you help.

Don’t mistake brevity for simplicity. “We leverage synergistic solutions for optimized outcomes” is short but meaningless.

Don’t hide behind vague language. “We help businesses grow” could mean anything. “We help restaurants fill empty tables during slow hours” is specific and clear.

The Expansion Principle

Once you have your 10-word explanation nailed, you can expand to any length while maintaining that core clarity. Your 10-word version becomes the thesis statement that every additional sentence supports.

Your 10-word explanation might become a 50-word paragraph, a 500-word blog post, or a 5,000-word case study. But every word you add should trace back to that simple, clear core message.

The businesses winning in noisy markets aren’t the ones with the cleverest positioning or most sophisticated messaging. They’re the ones that can explain what they do so simply that anyone immediately understands and remembers.

Can you explain your business, your service, or your biggest idea in 10 words? If not, you’ve got work to do. Start cutting, simplifying, and clarifying until you can. Your customers, your team, and your bottom line will thank you.