Tackling the tentacles of technical talk

Three years ago my husband and I became proud first homeowners of a property on Wellington’s

south coast. As anyone else who has been through this process will know, it is a time of high (and mixed) emotions. 

On one hand, you’ve finally got your own nest, to personalise in whatever way you desire. On the other, you nearly die of fright every time you log in to your online banking and see the 6-digit home loan figure glaring back at you.

Buying a home is often the biggest investment a person will make in their entire life. It’s a very serious matter.

A second wave of shock

We had our home loan approved by a well-known bank, offering the best interest rate at the time. They were quick to sign us up, once we’d proved our worth, and soon enough the screeds of home loan documents arrived.

I’m neither a lawyer nor a financial expert, and so the thick wad of complex pages sent to us by the bank was – to be frank – overwhelming. The fact that this loan document was tying us to an enormous financial commitment didn’t help either.

It’s natural to want to fully comprehend what you’re getting yourself into in these circumstances. But with heavily loaded words such as conveyance, insolvency, liability, and execution all littered about the contract, I quickly got the feeling that I was out of my depth.

If only we’d known

My husband and I spent considerable time painstakingly picking our way through those documents. We eventually felt we’d got a decent grasp of our responsibilities. It was clear to both of us, however, that a simple (plain language) explanation of some of the more technical terms would have been worth its weight in gold.

If only we’d known about Write’s free ebook, Unravelling Financial Jargon. This tool gives definitions of, and plain alternatives to, many common financial terms. It’s the ultimate financial jargon buster!

Get yourself a free copy of Unravelling Financial Jargon here. And let us know if you’ve got any jargon you want busted – we’d love to add it to an update of our ebook!

Read about Money Week

Find out about Write’s workshops in technical writing

Overcoming the fear of public speaking

There’s no doubt that fear of public speaking — or ‘glossophobia’, to use its technical term — is extremely common. Some estimate that as many as 75 percent of us experience this at some time in our lives.

I’ll readily admit that I’m no stranger to this phenomenon. Shaky hands, shortness of breath, anxiety: I’ve been there and felt it all.

Several years ago, I was asked to make a series of public addresses. To my great surprise, in doing this I experienced a public speaking ‘eureka moment’.

I’d been asked to speak to a group of retirement village residents during their weekly trip to the public library. I knew my content intimately, I’d met the group organiser, I was presenting in a familiar environment. But still I was racked with nerves.

My time to speak arrived. I cast my eyes over the audience: they seemed a kindly bunch, but would they like what I had to say? Would they ask difficult questions? Would they laugh at me if I made a mistake?

I cleared my throat and got started. Everything seemed to be going to plan until… someone started to snore!

I was mortified — I’d bored my audience to sleep (or so it felt)! My immediate impulse was to run out of the library and leave town. But then I saw the expectant faces of those still awake — I couldn’t let them down. They may also have been sleepy but their faces showed an eagerness to continue.

I suddenly realised that this was not about who delivered the speech — it was about what I had to say. My only failure up to that point had been to forget the nature of my audience.

I took a deep breath and carried on (although I did shorten the length of the address).

At the end of the speech, my listeners applauded with terrific enthusiasm, some nudging their snoring neighbours awake to join in the thanks. I felt an immense sense of achievement: I’d overcome an unexpected hurdle and ended up with happy listeners.

My ‘eureka moment’ was when I realised I’d taken myself too seriously and forgotten about the unique nature of my audience. I now use the lessons I’ve learned, combined with a number of coping techniques, to overcome my fears — and I even enjoy myself in the process!

Some of my colleagues at Write have shared how they overcome anxiety before a speech or presentation. Here are a few tips of my own.

Remember that:
* people are there for the content of your presentation, not to see you personally
* everyone makes mistakes
* it’s okay not to have answers sometimes
* public speaking can be fun!
Most importantly, be prepared and know your content well.

Find out about our speaking and presenting workshops.

What’s going on in New Zealand to improve literacy?

UNESCO[i] declared 8 September International Literacy Day in 1966. The purpose of celebrating this day each year is to remind the international community that literacy for all makes a healthy society — socially, politically, mentally, and physically healthy, that is.

Almost 50 years after the first Literacy Day, many countries still struggle with basic education and literacy. Our friend Sandra Fisher-Martins[ii] tells a story about how written information affects the lives of people who can’t read. Listen to Sandra’s story about her neighbour Mr Domingos in her TED talk. 

And in New Zealand and Australia, many people in our own adult communities find daily information difficult to take in and use.

Find out what’s being done to improve adult literacy by subscribing to the valuable newsletters at Workbase New Zealand. As a not-for-profit trust, they support organisations and people to build literacy, language, numeracy, and communication skills for a modern economy and society.

Workbase brings literacy to people at their workplace. They know that people’s general health, their safety at work and their economic status is closely linked to their literacy. You can read Susan Reid’s informative blog about health literacy, and subscribe to Workbase’s monthly health literacy newsletter.

At Write Limited we help writers in organisations small and large apply plain language techniques to their information. Writers may have a higher level of literacy than the thousands of readers they write for. Our plain language solutions help writers make health information, financial information, legal information, any information easier to read, take in and use. Our newsletters will show you how.

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[i] UNESCO is the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization

[ii] Sandra Fisher-Martins established Claro in Portugal

Plain beautiful

Our passion is plain English, but some people seem to think ‘plain’ means ‘unadorned’ rather than ‘clear’.

To us, plain English is text that the intended readers find easy to read, easy to understand, and easy to act on. A suitable tone for the audience and purpose is part of plain English (and one of the key criteria we use when assessing documents). Structure is part of plain English. Layout is part of plain English. Elegance is part of plain English.

Plain English is the style of Abraham Lincoln, and Mark Twain, and Justice Holmes, and George Orwell, and Winston Churchill, and E.B. White. Plain words are eternally fresh and fit. More than that, they are capable of great power and dignity: "And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good." (Joseph Kimble Answering the Critics of Plain Language)

Joseph Conrad wrote in plain English, as does Kate Grenville. The American Constitution is written in plain English. Steve Jobs consistently worked magic with plain English. Plain words and plain meaning enhance the emotional impact on the reader. Nothing gets in the way of the emotional experience. ‘Plain’ is not boring; ‘plain’, well done, is beautiful.

Write's top five blogs for 2013

Which of our blog posts did you click most last year? We blog about all kinds of topics. The value of clear writing — financially and philosophically. Grammar — everyone wants to know about the debates and the options. Financial literacy. Language usability. Books from our shelves. Our own pet peeves.

Here’s the 2013 hit parade — the top five posts from our blog Write Clearly.

1. Think like a Tui ad!
Yeah, right. No, really! Tui ads are short, succinct, and perfectly pitched to their audience, says Lynda Harris. But what’s special about the one that she posted on Tui’s DIY billboard at their factory?
Read how to think like a Tui ad 

2. Do you take your lists with or without semicolons?
Anne-Marie Chisnall describes the science behind readability and visual clutter.
Read more about more readability and visual clutter

3. A conversation about health literacy
In our 'Conversations' blog series, Rosie Knight talks to health providers about the techniques they use to make sure that communication with their patients works well both ways. She also delves into why health literacy improves patient outcomes, and saves health dollars. In this conversation Rosie talks to Lorna Bingham, Diabetes Nurse Specialist.
Read Rosie's conversation with Lorna Bingham

4. Poor writing is not sustainable
Too many New Zealand businesses don't realise the huge impact that unsustainable business practices are having on their bottom line. Diana Burns quotes sustainability consultant Annette Lusk. And Diana writes that sustainable writing has a huge impact on profits.
Read more about making business writing sustainable

5. Taking issue with issues (and other such euphemisms)
Diana Burns finds a kindred spirit in columnist Joe Bennett, with his attack on the word ‘provider’ (as in internet provider, education provider, and health provider). She reveals a trick we use at Write for generating ‘noun strings’, and why they are terrible things.
Read more about taking issue with issues
Click to tweet: Write’s top five blogs for 2013

PLAIN 2013 Conference enlightens and inspires

What a privilege to be in Vancouver for the PLAIN 2013 Conference as hundreds of plain language practitioners and supporters from 19 countries commune. Or if the predictions of Neil James in this morning's plenary come true, we'll be plain language practitioners no more. We'll redefine our somewhat fragmented, multi-disciplinary profession as 'clear communication'. Our various disciplines from writer or editor to information designer, technical writer, or usability consultant (did I forget any?) will converge. No more problems describing your profession at those pesky school reunions.

In the second plenary, we heard the latest news about IC Clear from Karine Nicolay. Soon you'll be able to enrol in an international post-graduate course in clear communication.
Read about IC Clear

World Cafe followed, with 20 topics to choose from for a series of interactive roundtable discussions. We conversed through three topics for 20 minutes each. The themes of the ones I chose were: achieving long-term change, embedding clear language principles and practice within an organisation, and selling the need for plain language to management.

Legal language in legal aid and pro bono projects was the topic for after lunch. The country is different (the Canadian experience), but the problems are the same. Then an entertaining session of time-saving tips with Marcia Riley of Write Like a Pro fame before Josiah Fisk (More Carrot) delighted us with his maxims for messages and meta-messages, presented in his wonderfully visual way and timed to a tee.

The keen ones (most of them, I think) stayed on for the late shift when Sarah Stacy-Baynes and I presented together on the Cancer Society's project to rewrite their information booklet on lung cancer.

Looking forward to more inspirational stuff tomorrow.
Read more about PLAIN2013

Our experts take the world stage

Plain language practitioners from around the world are heading to Vancouver this month for the annual PLAIN Conference — that’s the Plain Language Association International.

Two of our experts will give presentations — Lynda Harris, founder and Chief Executive of Write Limited, and Anne-Marie Chisnall, Professional Services Manager.

Read about Lynda’s author conversation for our forthcoming book Rewrite — How to overcome the daily sabotage of your brand and profit

Read about Anne-Marie’s two presentations, about a groundbreaking WriteMark for a disclosure document, and document user-testing

Plain language evangelism – Equipping the disciples

Since Moses smashed the tablets – the stone ones with ten straightforward rules for living – we’ve been working very hard at transforming the simple into the complex, and confusing ourselves in the process. Joe Kimble, a plain language evangelist whose life work has been campaigning for plain legal language, is trying to alleviate the confusion by keeping things simple in his book, Writing for Dollars, Writing to Please.

This book is about a cause, but with a personal touch. For me, the personal touch adds interest and underpins the integrity of Joe Kimble’s work in an area that many would struggle to get excited about. You get a sense of mission from the personal story in Part 1.

While at law school, Joe never questioned legal style, despite having studied English at Amherst College and graduated with honours. It never occurred to him that anything was wrong. The awakening (Joe’s word) came while working for the Michigan Supreme Court when he stumbled across two texts – on legal drafting and on English usage – both of which promoted simplicity and clarity. Over the last 30 years Joe has taught legal writing at Thomas Cooley Law School, acted as a legal drafting consultant, and written and spoken widely about plain language and its benefits.

Early on, you find out what this book is not about. It’s not a manual focusing on the nuts and bolts of clear writing. But in Part 2 Joe adapts guidelines he has produced for printed legal documents to helpfully explain the elements of plain language. For more detailed practical advice, he invites his reader to consult the plain language literature.

As its subtitle states, this book presents the case for plain language in business, government and law. In making the case, Joe’s “good news” message for businesses and government agencies is simple – using plain language is a money-saver. Why? Because plain language promotes clear understanding, and clear understanding reduces transaction costs. Those who need to act on information can do so only to the extent they understand what is required. Misunderstanding generally means more time and expense.

The case is made in Parts 3, 4 and 5. Part 3 debunks 10 of the most common myths, which attack the utility and effectiveness of plain language. Part 4 highlights the concrete results of promoting plain language worldwide over the last 50 years via publications, laws, projects, events, organisations and consultancies. Finally, Part 5 provides summaries of 50 plain language initiatives that demonstrate savings in time and money for government and business, and a better experience for consumers.

The case, as presented, is compelling. But is that enough to change hearts and minds? I have my doubts, and I suspect Joe might agree with me. In his personal story he says this book reflects all his efforts over 35 years in sharing the techniques, debunking the myths, and promoting the benefits of plain language. Three times in one paragraph he says, “I’ve tried…” revealing a hint of disappointment, and confirming the truth of the adage “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink”. You can also sense the frustration when at page 43, after asking isn’t 50 years of myth-busting enough, the author says:

In the end, you have to wonder just what it is that traditionalists are defending about traditional style. And you have to wonder whether they have had the slightest experience with plain language or given a moment’s thought to what it can accomplish.

Joe refers to his work as a journey. I like that metaphor. A journey’s progress depends on the conditions faced along the way. Occasionally it will be “plain” sailing with excellent progress, but more often than not the road will be rocky and progress will be slower, but progress nonetheless. In many cases complacency, rather than overt opposition, may be to blame for the perceived slow adoption of plain language in business and public communication.

So who will read this book? I think it will appeal mainly to those who are already convinced of the worth of plain language, or at least are favourably disposed towards it. They will be encouraged by the well constructed retrospective showing the gains that have been made, and hopefully will be inspired to build on the solid foundation of those gains.

Joe Kimble has demonstrated that he is not a lone voice crying in the wilderness. The seeds of plain language have been well and truly planted. Benefits are being reaped, but a rich harvest remains out there. Those who already acknowledge the value of plain language and want to promote it in their organisations will find this book a valuable resource. They will be able to confidently follow the author’s rallying call that ends this book: “Go forth and spread the word.” Hearts, as well as minds, need to be changed, and that’s a job for well-equipped disciples.

By Steve O’Hagan

Steve is an enrolled barrister and solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand and a plain language advocate. He has worked in the legal services industry in both the private and public sector for 22 years, specialising in knowledge and information management, and honing his writing skills.

Clarity or obfuscation?

Eric Rosenberg, writing in Forbes, suggests that business can save money if it learns plain language techniques from business.

Many organizations default to opacity and obfuscation in their communications. Clarity of purpose is crucial in business. But many within organizations have difficulty expressing that purpose – whether it’s in a mission statement, a news release, or an internal marketing presentation. The result isn’t surprising. As workers grapple for clarity, there are more meetings about meetings, more memos about memos, more time and resources spent clearing away the brush in an attempt to reveal a purpose.

 and

...in the business world,  lengthy presentations often are rewarded over substance, and jargon is confused with intelligence. Real words are lost and, as a result, the ideas buried.

Read the article for more about the diagnosis and the solution.

Understanding the fiscal cliff

Yet another picturesque term from the language of economics is making headlines, especially since the US elections. This time it's the 'fiscal cliff'. Find out more in this article from The Atlantic. And is it a cliff or a slippery slope?

Read about the fiscal cliff

Does my butt look big in this?

We were recently offered a complimentary gym membership. Some of the folks in the office thought a complimentary gym membership sounded like a great idea for those who don’t like to look at their side view in mirrors!

Compliment / complement is a troublesome pair. As you all know, the first is an expression of admiration but it also means something free, so the gym was correct. The second is something that adds extra features or benefits. 'She complimented me on the way my handbag complemented the outfit.' 

Liz of Libroediting has been blogging about troublesome pairs. Check out her index of troublesome pairs posts to see if you can find an entry on words that confuse you or your work colleagues.

Do I use compliment or complement?

So what is professional writing?

'Professional’ is a word people bandy about — probably because it sounds impressive. Yes, but what does it mean?

Where writing is concerned, we at Write hear ‘professional’ used often by writers trying to describe how they want their writing to come across. ‘Professional’ has become a catchall term for everything about a piece of writing ranging from vocabulary to tone to layout.

For our two cents’ worth, professionalism implies correctness — specifically, correctness of expression. And let’s throw in consistency as well, while we’re on the job.

Professionalism means correctness of expression

Sorry, but correctness of expression involves all those school days do’s and don’ts. Wrong spelling, misused or missed out punctuation, sentences that are badly constructed — these create a bad impression on the reader. They suggest lack of professionalism because they imply laziness and lack of attention to detail. Which in turn reflect on an organisation as a whole.

If you are a lazy or careless writer, have the grace to disguise that fact by giving your writing to someone who is painstaking and takes pride in getting things correct.

Professionalism means consistency of expression

Consistency means using the same element of language or punctuation in a similar manner throughout a document. Here are three examples.

• If you use the word ‘report’ to refer to something, continue to use that same term (oops! I mean word) throughout.
• Be consistent with the way you punctuate bullet-pointed lists (you may have a style guide that provides a standard).
• If you use a capital letter for a word, for example Ministry, make sure you use the capital consistently.

We can’t all be experts

You may know you’re not blessed with the eye for detail that professionalism requires. So shoulder- tap someone in your organisation who is.

Hidden away in every organisation are members of a fast-dying race — proofreaders — to whom I will dedicate a future blog. Ask one of these rare beings to check your writing for correctness and consistency.

All the thanks they’ll want is the opportunity to explain to you why they’ve made changes — and you never know, you might learn something!

Do I need to number my paragraphs?

Are you numbering paragraphs as you write a document?

Maybe you’ve numbered every paragraph so far. You’ve got to 2.1.1 (level 3 numbering) and the indent spacing no longer seems to work. You’re a quarter of the way across a line before starting to write. And you’re wondering what to do next.

Remember, you're writing a crisp business document, not an academic treatise. Take a step back and ask: ‘Do I need to use any subparagraphs and sub-subparagraphs that require paragraph numbering?’ The answer will usually be ‘no’.

You might say, ‘Okay, I’ll use numbering after lead-in text. It can follow my paragraph numbering pattern.’ But what if you only have two points (1.1 and 1.2)? Remember: Paragraphs usually deal with a single theme, while listed bullet points support a central theme. So it might be better for you to use bullet points instead.

Use paragraph numbering sparingly, and then try to keep to level 1 numbering.
After all, as a reader, what would you want to focus on and remember — the numbering or the writer’s words?

Healthcare consumers in the US have a new plain language friend--section 2715

Section 2715 is a new rule about clarity in health insurance documents. The new rule will make it easier for 150 million Americans to understand the information and choose a healthcare plan.

The US Government released the new rule on 9 February 2012 under section 2715 of the Public Health Service Act, and the Affordable Care Act, as part of reforming the health system.

The new rule says that all insurance companies must provide a ‘short, easy-to-understand Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SBC)’ and a ‘Uniform Glossary’, a glossary of terms commonly used in health insurance policies and plans.

Using plain language is only part of making documents easy to read. Other key words in the new rule are ‘concise’, ‘simple’, ‘consistent information’, and ‘consumer testing’.

The Government developed the SBC and glossary after working with insurance and health people. Then testing the SBC and glossary in two rounds of consumer testing provided an opportunity to gather data on the readability of the documents.  All parties, the Government and insurance companies, will be able to measure the difference they make to healthcare processes and services. In Write’s experience, clear documents can save millions of dollars.

Follow this link to read what the insurance documents will be like after 23 September. http://www.healthcare.gov/news/factsheets/2011/08/labels08172011a.html

In New Zealand, several insurance companies were early adopters of plain language and document clarity, and many continue to work with us to ensure that their documents are easy to read. Have a look at our WriteMark website to see who has achieved recognition for their clear documents.  http://www.writemark.co.nz/Who+has+the+WriteMark.html

Update on the work of US anti-jargon warriors

A recent article in The Washington Post brings us up to date with plain language happenings in the United States.

Read the article here

A rose by any other name...

Neil James of the Plain English Foundation, in a presentation on the first morning of the IPEd Conference, challenged us to apply a simple test of public recognition. Ask your taxi driver, he said, what profession solves the problem, and what is the name of the professional practitioner.

Illness or injury? Medicine and doctor.

A complex tax return? Accountancy and accountant.

Breach of contract? Law and lawyer.

What about producing a document?

Thanks to historical contexts, the fragmented theoretical base, and rapidly evolving fields, we're unlikely to get the same response (or in some cases any response) from all the people we ask.

Neil suggests that we needed to promote editing and its communications siblings as part of a broader communications discipline, encompassing editing, technical communication, plain language, information design, and usability.

My question to you is what should we call this discipline? Neil suggests 'communicator'. My offering that day was 'scribe' - a word with a venerable tradition. Once, designers used to call themselves commercial artists. Does that make us commercial writers?

Thinking about it further, I'm leaning towards 'writer'. That's what I put on customs documents and tax forms. When people ask: 'What do you do?' I respond: 'I write'. 'What do you write?' With Hamlet, I reply: 'Words. Words. Words.'

Any preferences? Other suggestions?

Double the writing — double the cost

A reporter for a regional newspaper contacted me recently to see if I thought State of the Environment reports should be written in plain English. (Of course I do!) She said that some councillors had criticised the council's 165-page report for being too technical. Council staff had responded by saying that the report needed to be technical to meet Ministry for the Environment requirements, but that it planned to produce another version everyone would be able to understand.

What did I think of that? Even a report that has a significant technical requirement can usually be written to satisfy a less-informed audience. Without having seen the report, it seemed to be a waste of time and taxpayer money to rewrite a document that could almost certainly have been written to meet the needs of a wider audience in the first place. Writing twice inevitably means twice the cost.

I quickly checked the Ministry for the Environment website and various State of the Environment reports for clues as to what was expected. I certainly didn’t find any instruction that these reports must be written primarily for a technical audience. But I did find plenty of evidence that these public documents should be accessible to rate payers and any interested members of the public. Interestingly, the Nelson City Council State of the Environment Report 2010 (which has many plain English features) noted that ‘While it is now a requirement to prepare an SOE report, the Act is largely silent on the content and presentation style of that report’.

So it is up to councils to find a writing style that meets the needs of its audience. Since plain English is a style of writing that chooses structure, language and presentation based entirely on the needs of its audience, it is the only style a council should use.

The various reports I looked at from around the country revealed a considerable range of writing styles and approaches. Some authorities had made a clear effort to use language that would be accessible to interested members of the public, while others used highly technical language familiar to environmental experts but few others. Some had clearly made some effort but still included a raft of technical terms that made the report hard going.

Unsurprisingly the reports that were written in plainer language were generally more interesting and more likely to promote participation in environmental issues. A rather important point I think.

Stormy forecast for plain language

How do you make specialised subjects accessible to a non-specialised audience? How do you convey technical information with clarity and precision, in a way that the layperson can understand?

We're often asked these sorts of questions. And it doesn't take long before someone brings up the perennial charge of 'plain language = dumbing down'.

But we think making your language clear is 'smartening up'!

A recent post by Skyler Goldman on the American Meteorological Society blog wonders if the messages about such topics as climate change are getting through. 'Making more scientific work available to the public in plain language would increase awareness.'

Read the full post here: http://blog.ametsoc.org/uncategorized/making-the-public-aware-of-the-science/

Giving clear instructions to jurors

Being a juror can be a somewhat daunting experience. But clear instructions can make all the difference.

In Texas, proposed changes to the Rules of Civil Procedure include jury instructions rewritten in plain language. Lawyers, judges, and court officials know that jurors don't always understand the instructions they're given or what their responsibilities are as members of a jury. The new instructions, if approved, will remove legalese and clarify points that people find confusing.

Read more about the new juror instructions in Texas


And check out the recently revised information for New Zealand jurors on the Ministry of Justice website. (By the way, Write worked on part of the Ministry's Access to Justice project.)

Read the information for jurors in New Zealand

Please use the comment box to tell us about instructions you've read recently -- those that were great to use, and those that caused you trouble.

Clear writing in Europe

We're pleased to hear that Sandra Fisher-Martins of Portugues Claro had a great day at the 'Clear Writing throughout Europe' conference on 26 November. Sandra spoke to the conference about breaking down barriers to plain language in Portugal.

The conference was organised by the European Commission. Check out their useful booklet with advice on how to write clearly. You'll find it at the link below, under the heading 'Clear writing guide'.



http://ec.europa.eu/translation/index_en.htm