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In so many areas of our lives, things are way too complicated. Applying for a job? Awesome, if you have 45 minutes to fill out a form with the exact same information from the resume you already uploaded. Buying a car? It’s a cinch, as long as you’ve got an afternoon to spend reading the fine print. Going to the doctor? It’s easy, once you’ve filled out these ten new patient forms.
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A few weeks ago, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified before the Senate. That’s not news. Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) stated the obvious: "Here's what everyone's been trying to tell you today — and I say it gently — your user agreement sucks." Senator Kennedy suggested that Mr. Zuckerberg tell his $1,200/hour lawyer to write the agreement in English, “so the average American user can understand.” Facebook knows how to do this, at least fairly well. So why didn’t they?
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Ensuring that written materials are easy to understand and use often starts with plain language best practices and includes field testing to “test” the content, format, and messages with the intended audience. Developers agree that user-centered design and feedback from intended audiences are critically important to developing clear, understandable, and useable information. However, there are often challenges to soliciting meaningful input from the “right” audience members, specifically, those with low literacy or low health literacy.
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No one could accuse Brooke Ellis of shying away from a challenge. For her inaugural engagement with the Center for Plain Language, Brooke took on the biggest volunteer opportunity we have – the annual ClearMark Awards. She joins Solstice Benefits colleague and Center board member, Alissa Gavrilescu as co-chair for the 2018 awards event scheduled for May 8 in Washington, D.C.
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If you’re reading this, you are probably a pretty big enthusiast for plain language and are promoting the cause in some way or other. Thank you for that! Here’s a way you can help the cause even more – as a Board Member for the Center for Plain Language. We’re holding elections next month for a number of openings on our corporate board and are looking for people with a passion for Plain Language.
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In the Broadway musical Hamilton, with these words, Alexander Hamilton, the “ten dollar Founding Father without a father” commits to fight for freedom for the American colonies. Now three U.S. Congressmen are taking their shot, committing to fight for freedom from bureaucratic language for American citizens. On Friday, March 16, Congressman Seth Moulton (D-MA), Congressman Mark Meadows (R-NC), and Congressman Dave Loebsack (D-IA) announced the introduction of the “Too Long; Didn’t Read” Act.
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As humans, we have a tricky relationship with ambiguity. Used effectively, ambiguity (messages with more than one interpretation) can create clever, insightful, and amusing communication — making it a staple of advertising and comedy. Used ineffectively, however, ambiguity’s multiple meanings can create confusing and misleading language that prevents readers from understanding what you mean.
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Does your organization rely on readability formulas? A research review by Dr. Karen A. Schriver—“Plain Language in the United States Gains Momentum: 1940–2015”—takes a hard look at readability formulas. Schriver finds that readability formulas are often unreliable and invalid methods of evaluating text quality.
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