October 2018 Volunteer of the Month: Sonia Sánchez Moreno
No one knows this truth better than Sonia Sánchez Moreno, Director of Community Translations for Sylaba Translations and two-time judge for the annual Spanish ClearMark awards. Sonia’s advocacy for plain language in translations is inspiring and her hard work as a judge helps the Center ensure that we have a robust and successful Spanish category. We sat down with Sonia – virtually, since she lives in Melbourne, Australia – to talk about plain language and the special considerations of translations.
How Plain Language Could Help Reduce Scams
By Tanner Call I’ve recently been the target of a clever direct mail scam. It involves convincing the potential victim that their vehicle’s warranty is
International Plain Language Federation
We recently sent an email to our members about an effort to develop international standards on plain language. The information below is a summary of that email, including what you can do now to support this effort. As we noted in the email, any efforts towards developing standards will not only have the potential to make our work in plain language easier, but may also provide more opportunities for those of us working in this area. Therefore, we can all benefit from the success of this effort.
Bridging the gap between plain language and user expectations
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.
Facebook knew better
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?
Making field testing easier makes a difference
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.
April 2018 Volunteer of the month: Brooke Ellis
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.
Do you have the write stuff?
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.
“Rise up! I’m not throwing away my shot!”
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.
How your brain reacts to ambiguity — and what to do about it
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.
Research review finds most readability formulas outdated and overrated
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.
IHA Health Literacy Awards
Okay, raise your hand if you like to win.
Now, keep it up if you like to be recognized for your great work.
And, keep it up if you LOVE filling out long forms and writing up a check request for the entry fee for an awards program for which your odds of winning are just slightly better than the average Powerball drawing.