We’ve worked with many different companies – from retailers to financial services providers, and we’ve heard many different versions of the same story. Maybe you have too?

1. Operations/sales/marketing say: “We’ve tried to write in plain language, but our legal team keeps changing things back to the way they were. They don’t understand what plain language is!”
2. Legal says: “Marketing/operations/editors open us up to too much risk – we have to protect the company. They don’t understand how plain language works!”
3. Everyone says: “We’ve been told to write in plain language, but we don’t want to dumb down our contracts/policies/forms. Management doesn’t understand.”

It’s not uncommon to have several conflicting views of plain language in a company, and to have some who feel stronger about its value than others. So what’s the solution? If you are really committed to changing the culture in your company to one of clarity, it’s going to take some effort, and it’s not going to happen overnight.

We’ve found that the best results come from a management team that believes in the value of clarity. Not because plain language is a legal requirement, but because it’s a way of strengthening the brand, and building lasting relationships with customers and service providers. There is more than enough research to back that up (ask us if you’re interested – we’re nerds too).

This is the solution that has worked for our clients:

It sounds super fancy, but really it’s a chance for your management team to get on the same page about plain language. Our consumer law expert and our resident communication expert talk to your team about what plain language is – and what it is not. They are there to answer any questions about how plain language can boost your image, and how to get the rest of the business on board. They’re great at change management.

When it comes to plain language – one size does not fit all. Find a service provider that will work with your company’s documents, and the skill levels of your writers.

Don’t just send one person or one team on training. If you want lasting results, you have to send a representative group, including someone from management, legal, marketing, design, and operations. Plain language is not an editing exercise – it’s a way of doing business. We like to talk about Clarity by Design. That means you bake clarity into everything you do – from the way that you market your products, to the way you write your contracts and your call centre scripts. Everything has to align, or else your customer or service provider will have a disjointed experience. That being said – sending one person when you’re a start-up or a company of three is better than not sending anyone at all!

Sending someone out of the office for two days to learn about plain language, and then never following up that training, is not going to give you the return on investment your company deserves. It’s also unfair to expect someone to master the art of plain language drafting in just two days. The training should be integrated with the work that your team is already doing. For instance, basing the training on your existing contracts so that the team can work on their own templates during the course.

Ideally, training should be delivered over a longer period, in smaller chunks to give your team the opportunity to practice what they have learned and get feedback on their progress.

Our Clarity by Design approach is tailored to the needs of your company and the schedule of your team. We start with a half-day workshop that introduces the most important aspects of plain language, and allows us to get to know your company better. After that we can advise you on the best route to take – whether that’s getting your own writers skilled up in plain language, or whether it’s outsourcing your plain language writing.

If you’re interested in Clarity by Design, get in touch and let us know. We’d love to learn about your company and your plain language needs.