While working on a public sector job recently, Flann O’Brien’s words kept bouncing around my head. As I was adjusting and rewriting my own first draft to fit the Plain English model, I wondered…. why don’t I write like this more often?
Plain English is clear, jargon-free language that makes information easy to understand. It’s the preferred approach for government communications worldwide. And the longer I do this job, the more it appeals to me. (Flann O’Brien was a pen name for the brilliant Irish satirist Brian O’Nolan. His poem ‘The Workman’s Friend’ contains the famous Irish literary phrase I mangled above…)
Why we could all do with a little more plain-speaking
- It’s just more considerate. Not everyone has English as their first language or have high levels of literacy or education if they do. People who have cognitive difficulties and the elderly in our communities must also be considered and supported in all written comms, whether public-sector or consumer.
- It’s more transparent. If you’re trying to build trust with any target audience, confusing, bureaucratic language, or techno-babble will make people feel suspicious or frustrated. For years, the public sector has applied Plain English to reduce misunderstandings and demonstrate accountability.
- It’s instructive. As any government agency will tell you, if policies or laws are hard to follow or understand, people will simply ignore them or not comply. Too often, in commercial writing, we can be guilty of not saying something straight in case we might come across as condescending or overly simplistic.
- It’s more efficient. For all public-facing or consumer organisations, a lot of time is spent dealing in unnecessary queries. Complaints and misunderstandings are often a result of overly-bureaucratic and technical or regulatory speak that leave people with only one option – direct contact. Cleaner communications will result in stronger connections.
- It’s compliant. Right now, many countries have laws or policies requiring government communication to be accessible and understandable. Legislation like the EU Web Accessibility Directive and DPER’s 12 principles of quality customer service address and promote the need for clear, user-friendly public sector communication. For the private sector, more legislation like this is most likely on the way so getting into the habit of clarity, transparent comms is the way forward.
So the next time you’re tempted to shove ‘mission-critical into a place it never wanted to be or ask someone to ‘initiate’ something when they only have to ‘start’ it, stop for a moment. Ask yourself…will everyone know what I mean or what to do next when they read this?
If not, it’s probably time for some plain-speaking.