Plain language is a set of strategies and techniques for writing. A document written in plain language conveys information clearly and in easy-to-understand language. It is free from bureaucratic jargon or “legalese” language which may confuse or alienate your readers. Plain language writing helps readers get to the heart of the matter within the first paragraph.

Plain language is not…

Unprofessional, disrespectful, or inaccurate. It does not “dumb down” information for the public. In fact, using plain language is respectful because it values the readers’ time.

5 Benefits of adopting plain language:

• Reduce the amount of time it takes for individuals or organizations to comply with your instructions. With plain language, your customers can understand your message and instructions the first time they read your documents.
• Cut down on the number of customer service phone calls, inquiries, and complaints. When people don’t understand the information we provide, they contact your front-line staff, hotlines, or government contracted service providers to understand how to act on the information we provide.
• Increase the likelihood that we get the response we are seeking. Some people who receive confusing letters or unclear public documents may not do anything at all. Your letters or pamphlets may end up in the recycling bin or trash.
• Become accessible to more people. Accurate and high quality translation starts with easy-to-read English-language documents. Translators will make fewer mistakes and better convey your message when they are translating plain language documents.
• Increase company/department transparency and hold yourselves accountable for the messages we send the public.

Good customer service starts with us. We can improve your reputation as responsive and accessible by respecting our customer’s time – the time it takes them to understand our messages and get the services they need.

Si l’on se place du côté du recepteur-lecteur, un langage simple consiste à comprendre et entendre du premier coup un contenu. En ancien français « entendre » et « comprendre » pouvaient d’ailleurs tous les deux s’appliquer au domaine de l’intellection.

En d’autres termes, l’internaute doit pouvoir :

• trouver ce dont il a besoin ;
• comprendre ce qu’il trouve ;
• utiliser ce qu’il trouve pour aller à la rencontre de ces besoins.

L’enjeu est majeur car nul n’a envie de perdre son temps sur le Web à traduire les différentes difficultés que peut présenter un texte.

Un service-client

C’est une question de gain d’énergie. Ainsi, on peut voir le « plain language » comme un service-client à part entière, déterminant en termes de crédibilité et de lisibilité.

Pour les professionnels, adopter une forme simple et claire pour la communication sur le Web est directement porteur d’économie matérielle. Ainsi, on évitera toutes les demandes d’informations complémentaires : téléphone, mails, envoie de brochures etc. Ne perdons pas de vue qu’une mauvaise communication se paie toujours cash !

Conseils pratiques

Il n’y a pas de recette miracle, ni de techniques vraiment définies. Mais en bref, il faut veiller à :

• se mettre tout le temps à la place du lecteur
• organiser logiquement le contenu
• utiliser la voix active
• faire usage de phrases courtes
• faire appel à des mots communs, quotidiens
• s’adresser directement au lecteur
• disposer le texte dans un design lisible

Liens rapides

• Conseils en ergonomie
• Ecrire simplement, ce n’est pas si simple
• “Bien” écrire pour le Web
• Ce qui se conçoit clairement se dit simplement

A standard request but one that is harder than it seems. Here's what I ended up with:

Vortex Mobile creates mobile solutions that deliver measurable results. Our marketing services group provides full cycle project management for SMS and multi-media messaging programs, WAP site development, J2ME mobile and desktop widget development and Facebook applications leveraging mobile technology.

Our technology services group offers a suite of mobile business tools using two-way mobile messaging. The services are offered as web-based applications using proprietary programming for easy customization and integration with your existing business systems. Our solutions include platforms for managing staffing shortfalls, crisis and other stakeholder communications, and mobile coupons and ticketing

If you're keeping score at home, that's 92 words. Fairly succinct but I'll confess it benefits somewhat from loaded jargon-y type terminology to paint the picture.

Recently over at ProPr there was a good debate about a plain language definition for social media. There were some wonderful comments & suggestions but the one that really caught my attention came via Twitter from David Jones of PR Works who said,

Reading @thornley's "what is social media?" post again. I'm thinking that if you can't define it 140 characters, it's too long.

We're always being asked to describe what we do or define a product or service in a short but insightful way. There's the famous elevator pitch (link is to the a good post about the elevator pitch 2.0) or when we first meet someone and they ask the inevitable 'so tell me what you do' question. And then there's Twitter and Facebook status updates. Text messages and instant messaging have their own lexicon of symbols and abbreviations.

Clients and prospects, in my experience, lose interest very quickly if you offer a rambling and tangential response to a question. If you're in PR you have milliseconds to catch a journalist's attention so what you're saying better be interesting and snappy.

There's an increasing premium on a 'what's in it for me'/instant gratification mentality. We value connectivity & responsiveness. There are millions of people worldwide who have Blackberries surgically fused to their person. We get our information on demand and consume it how and when we want to (See RSS & PVR).

With attention spans shortening and information consumption increasing, the need for brevity and clarity in communication is tremendous. So here are 6 basic tips that I try to keep in mind:

1. Keep it in plain language. If you can't walk up to someone on the street and have them understand what you're talking about, go back to the drawing board.

2. Use a 'features & benefits' approach. People will zone out if they can't easily digest what's in it for them.

3. Avoid industry jargon. By its nature it's dense, clouds meaning and hinders interpretation. It's hard, just take a look at my corporate description. Do you know what I'm talking about? Partially? This goes for double hyperbole and meaningless terms like 'new & improved'.

4. Use the active voice. This is grade school grammar stuff but can't be repeated often enough.

5. Edit, edit, edit. Your brain will inevitably spew out more information than you need. Sharpen that red pencil. Take time away from your work. A refreshed view will often lead to greater clarity.

6. Collaborate whenever possible. You'll find that another's perspective helps in focusing your message.

I'd love to hear other thoughts. I'm no expert. I'm sure even in this post I've neglected to follow some of the tips. And, well, see point # 6.

The survey results, evaluation of Texas formbooks, and interview [with Professor William Dorsaneo] suggest that there is a slow shift toward litigators' writing more plainly. Survey respondents stated that they relied on formbooks. Three of the four Texas formbooks market their material as plain-language products. At least one of those formbooks—O'Connor's—actually does avoid unnecessary legalese.

For over 15 years, we've been leading the charge to bring clarity to legal writing, not only in our forms products, but in our codes and commentaries products as well.  If you haven't used one of our forms products, I would encourage you to try them out.  I think you'll find them much easier to use and understand. 

Tax collectors in Washington state collected millions more dollars after taking one simple step: rewriting letters to taxpayers to make them more understandable.

According to a story by Amanda J. Crawford, this approach is gaining momentum. Arizona is one state that's intrigued.

"I'm thinking, 'Really? You just change words on paper and good things will happen?' " said Arizona's director of revenue, Gale Garriott.

Officials in California, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oregon and Texas are also taking a look at their forms.

Really? Only those six states?

The plain language movement, a legitimate, 35-year effort to eliminate government-speak in documents normal people are supposed to be able to understand, has been around for decades. (Somewhat ironically, President Richard Nixon was a big advocate.)

Crawford explains:

The goals are simple: Make documents understandable on the first read. Make them useful and easy to scan for information through better design, headings and bullets. Use language geared for the intended audience.

One example:

Before: "The Arizona Department of Revenue has received your Transaction Privilege Tax (TPT) license/withholding registration application form and found that insufficient information has been provided to allow us to process your request."

After: "We cannot process your license application because required information is missing."

Spread the word to your state's lawmakers! And if you're a writer, start building your plain-language portfolio.

The main thrust is that these terms, though (arguably) once useful, have been discredited through over-use and by functioning as a shield agaisnt actually saying something useful, insightful or relevant.

Cliches are more than just linguistic shortcuts, they're typically also intellectual & creative shortcuts. It's easy to fall back on one of these vacuous expressions, deferring responsibility for saying something meaningful or least forcing the reader (listener, etc..) to interpret for themselves. In fact, its probably better that these cliches are used so often. It allows the consumer/interpreter to come to their own conclusions.

I'm sure if business rhetoric all of a sudden became honest, transparent, insightful and useful, we wouldnt have a clue what was going on & what was expected of us. At least now, when some someone says "lets think outside the box" we know they don't have clue what they want and are expecting us to come with the answer that will save their skin.

Tags: business cliches, godin, language, squidoo

The main thrust is that these terms, though (arguably) once useful, have been discredited through over-use and by functioning as a shield agaisnt actually saying something useful, insightful or relevant.

Cliches are more than just linguistic shortcuts, they're typically also intellectual & creative shortcuts. It's easy to fall back on one of these vacuous expressions, deferring responsibility for saying something meaningful or least forcing the reader (listener, etc..) to interpret for themselves. In fact, its probably better that these cliches are used so often. It allows the consumer/interpreter to come to their own conclusions.

I'm sure if business rhetoric all of a sudden became honest, transparent, insightful and useful, we wouldnt have a clue what was going on & what was expected of us. At least now, when some someone says "lets think outside the box" we know they don't have clue what they want and are expecting us to come with the answer that will save their skin.

Tags: business cliches, godin, language, squidoo