The 'Explain It Like I'm Five' Trick for Simplifying Your Service

03 October 2026·3 min read

Quick answer: Most businesses describe what they do using the language they use internally, industry terms, qualifications, process names, which sounds professional to colleagues and confusing to the actual customer deciding whether to enquire. The 'explain it like I'm five' trick isn't about dumbing down your expertise, it's a drafting exercise: write the real explanation first, then rewrite it again as if explaining to a smart twelve-year-old, and use that second version as your actual website copy. 🤍

Here's a trap almost every expert falls into when writing their own marketing copy: the more you know about something, the harder it becomes to describe simply, because every sentence wants to include a caveat or a technical distinction that matters enormously to you and means nothing to a first-time visitor. 💖 The fix isn't to know less, it's to deliberately write a second, simpler draft.

What most businesses get wrong

Website copy gets written in the same language used for internal team conversations or industry colleagues. Customers get assumed to already understand the problem the same way the business does, and simple language gets treated as less credible, when it's usually more credible to a non-expert audience, not less.

The two-draft method

Write the real, technically accurate explanation first, get it right, jargon and all
Set it aside and write a second draft explaining the same thing to a smart twelve-year-old with no background knowledge
Compare: which specific words or phrases from draft one didn't survive into draft two? Those are your jargon flags
Use draft two as the actual customer-facing copy, keeping draft one internally for anyone who wants technical depth
Test the simple version on someone genuinely outside the industry before publishing

A booking-based business with lots of no-shows: rewrote its booking policy from internal operational language into a simple two-sentence explanation a first-time customer could understand without any back-and-forth, cutting confused phone calls about the policy.

A B2B firm with a long sales cycle: used the two-draft method on its core service description, discovering that the simplified version actually made the offer sound more confident, not less sophisticated, once the jargon was stripped out.

A local service business with a seasonal dip: simplified its seasonal offer explanation after testing the original version on a friend outside the industry, who genuinely couldn't tell what was actually being offered until it was rewritten.

How to roll it out

Do this exercise for your most important pages first, homepage, main service pages, rather than trying to rewrite everything at once. Keep the technically precise version available somewhere for anyone who wants it, an FAQ, a detailed page, rather than deleting it entirely. Revisit the exercise whenever you notice customers asking basic clarifying questions the copy should already answer.

💡 Simple isn't the same as vague. The goal of this exercise is removing unnecessary jargon, not removing the actual substance. A good simplified explanation should still be specific and accurate, just in plain words.

Mistakes to avoid

Writing customer-facing copy in internal or industry language
Assuming customers already share your background knowledge
Equating simple language with less credibility
Never testing the simplified version on someone genuinely outside the industry
Deleting the detailed version entirely instead of keeping it available for those who want it

Frequently asked questions

Does this make the business sound less expert?

Generally the opposite. Plain, confident language usually reads as more expert than jargon, which can sound like compensating for a lack of clarity.

Should every page go through this exercise?

Prioritise your highest-traffic, highest-stakes pages first, homepage, core service pages, rather than attempting a total site rewrite at once.

What's the honest nuance?

Some genuine complexity can't be fully simplified without losing accuracy. The goal is removing unnecessary jargon, not oversimplifying something that's genuinely nuanced.

Keep reading 🤍

Written by

Kate, founder of Chronically Online

I help Gold Coast and Brisbane businesses grow with branding, websites and marketing that actually works.

Work with me ✦