Start a plain language initiative in your organization:
A step-by-step approach

Step 2

Start with a simple project

When I began working on plain language revisions, I was ready to take on every single convoluted, bureaucratic, outrageously unfair document I could uncover in the state agency where I worked. A veteran plain language consultant I was working with at the time knew better. She’d been in the battle for 30 years. “You can’t change the world overnight, Dana,” she advised.

She was right for two reasons.

• First, smaller projects take less time. If your small, six-month project is a success, your organization will know about the benefits of plain language sooner than if you’d launched a three-year project to rewrite 1,000 form letters.
• Second, a small project will give you a feel for the challenges ahead and give you the experience you’ll need for a larger project.

So, instead of mapping a plan to revise every single document and web page in your organization, create a simple, targeted project aimed at solving a specific problem.

• It could be a single form letter your hotline manager says increases calls by 90 percent each time it is mailed.
• It could be a home page with unclear link labels that consistently guide customers to the wrong part of your site.

Keep it simple and be clear about what the project’s business goal is.

If the improvement works, it will be obvious, the idea will catch on and people will want you to continue your work. Don’t try to change the world overnight.

Articles and other resources for plain language