The first few times I really applied plain language at work, it was hard. I felt like I was dumbing down my document, stripping it of it's "expertise," and losing credibility by substituting simple terms for technical ones.
Why?
The information was the same. It was easier to understand. The conversation was clearer as a result. How come I felt so uncertain?
It comes down to culture - our own, and our organization's.
Let's face it, since we began memorizing spelling and vocab lists in elementary school, we've been taught that more is better and bigger is smarter. Higher education continues to reward us for complex sentences and lengthy prose. Need to write a 5 page paper? Fluff it up. Graduate programs do the same, with an extra layer of technical jargon and terms that feel so insidery-good when you use them.
Workplaces have their own culture of language. Nothing makes this more apparent than watching a new employee sit through a group conversation. What's AMI? DOT? FMLA? Conditional Zoning? Neighborhood Conservation District?
Slowly, we absorb our workplace lingo until it's second nature. We toss off a few phrases, throw in some jargon and an acronym or two and voila: a glassy-eyed constituent who has no idea what to do with the paper in their hand.
No. Plain Language does not make us look dumb.
You cannot write something in plain language if you do not understand it.
Many times, I've started to draft a memo only to realize that I don't really understand how the pieces fit together. Or I realize there's an obvious question we forgot to address, or a possibility we didn't explore. Those gaps and holes get buried under piles of words. When you strip information down to the cleanest possible presentation, you can really see what you're saying.
When you can say it clearly, and your reader understands it, that's when the real magic happens.
You cannot build trust with misunderstanding.
Instead of wondering "what are they hiding?" or feeling insecure because they don't know all your technical terms, plain language lets your reader feels respected. They understand what you're saying.
Fundamentally, public service is about providing help and building trust with our constituents. Trust comes from honest, open communication, not from unclear forms and misunderstanding.
Turns out, using plain language is the smartest thing you can do.
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