I can't read.

I have a confession.

I can't read.

When there's too much type on a page, I can't read.

When an email goes on for 700 words and includes a list of instructions that would hornswoggle Albert Speer, I can't read.

When I get something on 11x17" paper full of eight-point type, I can't read.

When I see a project flow that has 26 discreet and mandatory steps, I can't read.

When I receive something that feels shrill like an edict, I can't read.

When I get instructions that are contradictory and vague, I can't read.

When people annihilate the basic rules of decent writing, like Orwell’s below, well, you guessed it, I can’t read.

(i) Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
(ii) Never use a long word where a short one will do.

(iii) If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.

(iv) Never use the passive where you can use the active.

(v) Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.

(vi) Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.