Beginning a Plain Language Movement in Your Organization
My last post focused on the merits of plain language, and why it has received renewed attention. If your organization is serious about becoming more transparent, plain language is a key element.
Begin with a quick assessment phase. Glance through your written materials, or ask an outsider to review them. Look for these common sources of plain language offenses:
- Your press releases are peppered with jargon, disclosures and fluff.
- To do business with your company, customers must sift through contracts and other paperwork that would require a lawyer to fully comprehend.
- Your annual report copy is diluted by qualifiers, legalese and big words.
- Employees struggle to understand your benefits programs and navigate your enrollment forms.
If you know your organization needs a plain language transformation, but you aren’t sure what to do about it, here are some ideas.
1. Polish your skills. Before you begin a plain language push, be sure your writing and editing skills are ready. Several online resources will help: you can review word suggestions, before-and-after examples, and other government resources. Read David Meerman Scott’s Gobbledygook Manifesto for excellent insights.
2. Start small. As the Center for Plain Language advocates, apply your efforts to a small project that could deliver bigger rewards. Maybe a customer letter can be rewritten, or perhaps your website home page needs some work.
3. Establish standards. If your organization already has a style guide, add a section on plain language with guidelines and examples. Educate team members on the Flesch-Kincaid readability test and show them how to use the built-in Microsoft Word tool.
4. Follow through. Within some organizations, your plain language movement may require a formal team. In a small company, it may be a lower-profile effort. Regardless of your circumstances, set some attainable plain language goals for the coming year. Your audiences will appreciate it.
Comments
I suggest that people give a press release or marketing material to their mother. If she doesn’t understand it on the first read, revise.
Thanks for the link to my Gobbledygook Manifesto. I want to rid the world of world-class, cutting-edge, market-leading, mission-critical crap.
This is great advice - and thanks for mentioning the Center for Plain Language. But, I’d argue that testing materials with real users gives better results and more readable communications than readability formulas.
Here’s guidelines from the Center, starting with understand your audience and ending with test your document: http://www.centerforplainlanguage.org/aboutpl/guidelines.html
We give you a complete action plan in the book Plain Language in Organizations, downloadable at Plain Language Wizardry.
The Mother Test is a great suggestion.
Thanks for visiting, David. I’m a longtime fan of your blog, Tweets and (of course) the Manifesto.
Thanks for the additional links, Whitney and Cheryl. I’m continually impressed with the plain language resources that are available online.
Whitney, I agree that actual testing delivers better results. Even a quick usability test is better than nothing—and it’s always such an insightful (and humbling!) experience to observe users.
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