Clarity of Thought in the Age of AI

When you have clarity of thought, you know it. The fog in your brain lifts. You see with HD, 4K vision. You guesture with confidence. It feels wonderful.

As a consultant, before I coach or run workshops for a company, I like to observe how people talk in meetings. That way I can see how to help them communicate more clearly.

In one observation, I saw a sharp contrast between two teams. One was crystal clear. The other was not.

• The first team did not waste time. They began with a few notes from the last meeting, explained how they had applied them, and showed a simple prototype. In two minutes, the whole room got it. The leader smiled and said simply, “That’s awesome.” Zing.
  

• The second team spoke for much longer. They had lots of ideas, plenty of slides, and they spoke with diverted eyes, quiet voices, and awkward pauses. As my mom would say, it was clear as mud. Finally, the leader stepped in: “Sorry if I wasn’t clear. For next week, can you just do what I’m about to suggest?” Ouch.

We have all been in both situations. When our ideas are not clear, our speech is not clear either.

The Three Fogs

When clarity is missing, we reach for cover-ups:

• Fog #1: Over-explaining. We tell ourselves we will “figure it out in the meeting,” but what comes out is long-winded language that shows our thinking is not formed.
  

• Fog #2: Over-simplifying. We shrink the idea into something easy to recognize, just to get quick agreement and move on. But it is not the full truth.
  

• Fog #3: Over-dressing. We lean on jargon, acronyms, or polished words that make the idea look solid even when it is not.

The fog isn’t failure. It is actually a clear sign. When you notice yourself over-explaining, over-simplifying, or over-dressing, pause and admit: I haven’t found clarity yet.

My Own Fog

I’ve been there too. A few years ago, a client asked me to run a workshop on persuasion. I said yes, thinking I had the topic nailed. But as I started designing it, the fog rolled in.

So I ran a pilot for friends. Afterward, over pizza, they gave it to me straight: even my simplest points were over-explained. The slides looked good, but the clarity was missing. A few sleepless nights later, I worked through the fog. I delivered the workshop, shaking in my boots.

Here’s what that experience taught me:

• Clarity takes time, energy, and iteration. And in today’s world, those are hard to come by.

• The goal is to notice the fog, then choose: stay lost, or step back and think.

• If you’re up against a deadline, sometimes the clearest move is to say out loud, “Here’s what I’m still figuring out.” That honesty isn’t weakness, it’s human. And that can work in your favor.

BTW The workshop turned out to be a success!

Clarity in the Age of AI

These Three Fogs are converging on the horizon, and together they form what is being called AI slop — content that’s wordy, polished, and ultimately empty. It shows up when we outsource our thinking to LLMs instead of doing the thinking ourselves.

Don’t get me wrong. I use AI every day. In fact, I am using AI to help me write this article. So, I understand the temptation. Clarity of thought makes us feel safe. It’s easier to push the send, post, comment button when we can produce polished sentences with half-baked ideas. But it’s all shortsighted.

And, thank goodness, people are catching on.

Leaders, and all of us, need to remember that when we write and speak, no matter the process for how we got there, we need to fully own what we output. Clarity of thought is what will make our work succeed in the long run.

How to avoid the temptation?

Here’s one simple practices:

Before you ask AI a question, pause for two seconds and predict the answer yourself. Then compare. If it matches, you’re on track. If it surprises you, even better. If it doesn’t fit, ask why and think again.

Don’t outsource your thinking. It takes work, but it’s worth it. Over the next few articles, I’ll share with you how AI can help you get distance on your communication habits and how AI can help you lead with clarity.

Final Takeaways

In the end, it’s the same choice I saw in those two teams. One did the work to find clarity, and everyone immediately understood. The other unwittingly covered it up, and the leader had to step in.

AI is a tool like any other. Used carelessly, the fog will thicken. Human thought will become over-explained, over-simplified, and over-dressed. Used well, and the fog will lift. Creativity sparks, complexity finds order, and new perspectives open.

Our role as leaders is to hold that line and call out the fog when others do not. That vigilance will strengthen our workplaces, our communities, and society as a whole.

Side observation: Last weekend I hiked into the mountains and came across a river so clear I stood in it, letting the cold water rush past me. Clarity feels like that: present, simple, human.

Let’s share that clarity in how we think, how we speak, and how we lead at work.