Is my message clear?

Will It Stick? tests your words before you send them. Three cold readers say what they heard, not what you meant.

What you are really asking

Clear means a reader can act without asking you a question. If they must ask “which one?”, the message was not clear, however smooth it sounded.

Vague praise is the usual cause. “Interesting,” “great,” “a lot”: warm words that carry nothing a reader can use.

A real check

A real panel run. The full run is on Examples.

The goal

Recommend a podcast to a close friend so she actually presses play this week

The words

You should listen to this podcast I found. It is really interesting and the host is great and talks about a lot of different topics. I think you would like it. I listened to a few episodes and they were all good.

What the three readers kept

“Listen to this interesting podcast.”

Every reader kept the same point, word for word. The point arrived. It was just empty: no show name, no episode, no reason to press play.

Six scores

Simple3 / 10
Unexpected1 / 10
Concrete1 / 10
Credible2 / 10
Emotional2 / 10
Stories1 / 10

Where it blurs

Concrete scored 1 of 10. Your friend hears “some podcast, sometime.” There is nothing to search for and nothing to tap. The tip dies politely.

The one fix

“Cut the vague parts. Just say the podcast's name.”

The checker's rewrite could only drop “really.” The real fix needs a fact only you hold: the show's name. A checker can flag the hole. It cannot fill it for you.

Paste the words you're about to send. Find the one line they'll keep.