‘Choose the green one’ works only if the recipient can see the same colours and identify which item you mean. A label gives the instruction a more reliable reference: ‘Choose option B, the shorter introduction.’
The same principle applies to approval symbols and screenshots. A check mark can be useful, but write the decision when it matters: ‘The budget section is approved.’ A picture of a timetable may need the relevant time repeated in text.
This helps people using different devices, viewing conditions and assistive tools. It also helps anyone returning to the conversation later through search.
Avoid long strings of decorative symbols where a short phrase would do the job. If a symbol communicates essential information, make sure the meaning is available another way.
For links, use a descriptive label such as ‘Revised travel plan’ rather than several identical ‘click here’ messages. The reader should be able to distinguish the destinations without opening them all.
Before sending, ask what information would be lost if the image, colour or symbol were unavailable. Put that essential meaning into words. Accessible communication often begins with a practical habit: make the decision and next step understandable in more than one way.