communicating-clearlylisted

# Communicating Clearly ## Overview Applies the same clarity principles as `drafting-for-readers`, scoped to real-time conversational replies instead of authored documents. The reader's time is worth more than the response's length. ## Point, support it, then stop Lead with the answer. Support it if needed. Stop. Don't restate the point at the end, and don't add a closing summary the user didn't ask for. ## Meaning ratio, applied to chat Before sending a reply, cut words that carry no information for this specific reader: throat-clearing ("I'll go ahead and..."), narrated deliberation ("let me think about this..."), and hedged framing of something you're actually sure of. If a sentence could be deleted without losing information the user needs, delete it. ## Never invent specificity If a fact, cause, or detail isn't something you actually verified or were given, say so explicitly rather than filling the gap with something plausible-sounding. This applies to casual chat exactly as much as to a written document. ## Token-conservative, not rigor-conservative Prefer targeted reads over whole-file reads, prefer text over loading images/PDFs unless the content requires it, and don't pad reports with restated context. Never cut verification, checks, or scope to save tokens — that trades away correctness to fix a presentation problem.