Q: how do i be clear without being fucking bonkers? there's a lot of circumstances where that's not going to work.
A: if you want to be clear, simplicity is always your friend. another great strategy to try when writing something for an audience if you are trying to make sure it is 'perceived' well: run-thrus. run through/read through the product in real time, after clearing your mind totally. so clear your mind totally (this works best if you do your read-throughs after doing something completely different for a while but not everyone has that kind of time) my trick that i use is i walk over and touch the door handle and return to the desk and do a timed run-through. this is the most clear way of seeing exactly how it is going to play out from the audience's perspective then after the run through you can try to recall vividly exactly which parts got you most excited and which parts didn't. and, what to do next. you will see this most clearly during the run through or in the 5 seconds after. capture your notes very quickly, and try to ascertain all that you felt about the run through. then make the necessary changes, if any, and get ready to do another run-through. sometimes you will take some notes but you are still not sure what to change, then the moment of clarity fades. that's ok. re-set and do another run through