Use precise step-by-step bullets about exactly what needs to be done and by whom. Seeing everything listed makes things clear.

Give a general outline of what it will contain, why and who it will be built for. This overall concept will help all team members see the bigger  picture.

A simple checklist includes what, when and why. (Never underestimate the power of the why.)

Use images and diagrams to illustrate your words.

If you are developing software or a website, the best place to start is with the GUI (Graphical User Interface)—basically how do you want the finished product to look (menus, buttons, form fields, information boxes, etc).

I like to use something like www.dlwmmm.com/msviso to draw general flow charts and create basic interfaces (essential in software development). For information products, sketch ideas for the cover and give a flow chart for content.

While tech-specs in software can be useful they are not the focus. This is old-school thinking. Create a user interface first.

Once you have the user interface, then you can save a hell of a lot of time. You can identify potential problems that you didn’t even think about before.

Plus your tech team can look at a GUI and already know what you’re trying to achieve. They’re more qualified to figure it out than you. You don’t need to tell them how to make it technically happen.