See how stories, quizzes, and challenges can make plain language training more engaging.
Date: Wednesday, September 16, 2026
Time: 6:30–7:30 p.m. ET
Location: Online
Cost: Free for Center members | $15 for non-members
Plain language training doesn’t have to feel like another course to click through.
Join In-Game Learning co-founders Christopher Balmford and Cinzia Theobald for a live demonstration of The Plain Game, an interactive online workplace training experience designed to teach people to write in plain language. Through engaging stories, quizzes, and challenges, the game turns learning into an experience participants can actively work through.
Christopher and Cinzia will share how The Plain Game came to life, demonstrate how it works, and explain how they made the content both fun and effective while aligning it with ISO’s international plain language standard.
Whether you teach plain language, support workplace learning, or want new ideas for helping people build clearer writing skills, this webinar offers a practical look at a different approach to training.
In this webinar, you’ll:
- See The Plain Game in action
- Learn how interactive stories, quizzes, and challenges support learning
- Hear how the creators balanced fun with effective plain language instruction
- Learn how the content was aligned with ISO’s international plain language standard
- Get ideas for making plain language learning more engaging in your own organization
Presenters
Christopher Balmford: Plain language practitioner and advocate
Christopher Balmford is a sea kayaker and a former lawyer. He has held these 3 volunteer roles in the plain language world:
- Inaugural Project Leader of ISO’s plain language standard project.
- Former board member of the International Plain Language Federation.
- Former president of Clarity International, a professional association that promotes plain legal language.
With Cinzia Theobald, he founded In-Game Learning to create an innovative online workplace training experience called The Plain Game. The Game teaches people to write in plain language. It launched in English in July 2026. It will launch in Spanish in late 2026.
Christopher is also the founder (1999), and CEO, of the Australian plain-language consultancy Words and Beyond. Clients include more than 35 government bodies, more than 60 public listed companies, 8 major Australian law firms, many smaller organizations, the International Labour Organization of the United Nations, and the European Central Bank.
In 2000, Christopher founded the online legal-document provider Cleardocs.com, which Thomson Reuters acquired in 2011.
Christopher also has these professional connections with the Center:
- He emceed the Center’s ClearMark Awards at the National Press Club in Washington D.C. in 2010 (the inaugural awards), 2011, 2012, and 2013.
- In 2012, he ran an all-day plain language course at the White House Conference Center in D.C. for the Center, thanks to one of our founders, Annetta Cheek, who chaired the event.
- In 2023, the Center combined with Clarity, and PLAIN to give Christopher an “Above and Beyond” award for his leadership on ISO’s plain language standard. The 3 organizations had never before combined to give an award and have not since.
Cinzia Theobald: Plain language and health literacy practitioner and advocate
Cinzia currently holds these volunteer roles in the plain language world:
- Plain Language Association International (PLAIN) Board Director.
- International Plain Language Federation (IPLF) Board Director.
- International Standardization Organization (ISO) Drafting Group for ISO 24495:4 – Plain Language Standard Part 4.
Cinzia has held senior executive positions in the healthcare industry and has worked in health literacy for 15 years. In 2021, Cinzia and her team were awarded PLAIN’s Christine Mowat International Plain Language Award for their plain language work with multicultural communities during COVID-19. The Christine Mowat award is internationally recognized as a lifetime achievement award.
With Christopher Balmford, she founded In-Game Learning to create an innovative online workplace training experience called The Plain Game. The Game teaches people to write in plain language. It launched in English in July 2026. It will launch in Spanish in late 2026.
Related reading
Want a preview of the ideas behind the game? Read the Center blog post, “The Plain Game: A Game-Changer for Teaching Plain Language Skills.”
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