Are you an advocate for clarity and simplicity in writing? At work, are you the lone voice championing jargon-free writing that meets readers' needs? Do you need ammunition to wield in editorial wars? Then download the presentations from the Center for Plain Language's 2008 Symposium. I attended the event last November, and here's a short list of the presentations I liked:
- Download Susan Kleimann's presentation on her company's rewrite of HUD's Good Faith Estimate form. Compare the before-and-after versions of the form and learn how the plain language re-do "... will save each consumer $700 at settlement."
- Learn how Josiah Fisk of Firehouse Financial used simple language and sophisticated humor to develop a successful internal communications campaign to ensure ethical behavior and compliance with security regulations at financial services firms. I know - there's hardly a less funny topic than complying with security regulations, but this communications campaign worked: "Once-skeptical executives ordered framed copies of favorite headlines for office walls."
- Read the research of Deborah Bosley of the Plain Language Group. Her work involved a plain language rewrite of the Minimum Distribution letter (federal tax requirement) that TIAA-CREF sent to customers who are age 70-and-a-half. Customers found the original letter confusing and scary. Their confusion caused them to contact TIAA-CREF in large numbers. Bosley's plain language rewrite featured minimal legal language and ample offers of guidance and support.
Interested in plain language? Check out a previous post, Plain Language in Practice: Writing for the Web.
-- Leslie O'Flahavan
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