How to Plain Talk Your Writing, When and Why

It’s easy to fall into using language that makes others feel excluded. This can prevent them from getting the help they need or following instructions (think government and consumer services). It can prevent them from learning something new (think educational materials and nonfiction books). And it can even keep someone from enjoying a story (think literature).

It’s rarely, if ever, intentional. We just get comfortable with how we talk and write. Or we’re striving for a certain style or depth – academic, lyrical, literary.

In government and corporate settings, jargon can give us shortcuts when we’re communicating with people familiar with the jargon. We have policy and legal content that the policy and legal folks insist must be included. And, let’s be honest, there still can be a societal focus on “sounding smart” by writing or talking in more complex ways.

The problem comes when we:

• Assume we’re being clear.
• Assume readers will understand our jargon or style.
• Don’t consider how people have a wide range of needs and abilities in how they receive information.

In everyday communications, we want our audience to understand something the first time they read or hear it. That’s what the plain talk movement is about. This can be harder than we think!

Myth-Busting

First, let’s bust through a couple of misperceptions about plain talk:

• “Smart” people might not like plain-talked content. If someone wants to challenge their thinking and reading abilities with college-level research papers, dense policy documents or literature that digs deep with more complexity, there are plenty of options to keep them happy. But most of us also just want to get through everyday life without putting unnecessary energy into guessing, re-reading, puzzling or having to sit on a call center wait line because we can’t figure out poorly written information.
• Plain-talked content equals boring. It doesn’t have to be. In my region, a great example is how our state’s transportation department has transformed what can be dry, hard-to-follow road closure alerts into fun, visual social media posts. WSDOT uses paint maps with hand-drawn notes and local humor. Check out their Facebook page for a chuckle. And in children’s books, there are an increasing number of fiction and nonfiction books that combine lively writing with easier comprehension to reach a broader range of readers.

Plain Talk Tips

Some helpful strategies I use in my government work are:

• Use active voice (keep passive sentences under 10%)
• Avoid or spell out acronyms
• Use personal pronouns
• Keep average sentence length to 10 words or less
• Avoid compound sentences
• On websites, use descriptive text for hyperlinks (not generic “click here” wording)
• Break up longer passages with headings, bulleted or numbered lists
• Reduce the percentage of complex words with three or more syllables
• Avoid industry jargon
• Focus only on key information
• Use words your customers/readers use
• Stress next steps and action items
• Be clear about any consequences or benefits

I’ve also written four high interest-low readability books for teens so far. Specific techniques include:

• Avoiding time shifts like flashbacks and changing points of view.
• Keeping most sentences under 20 words.
• Avoiding dependent clauses.
• Avoiding complex words (at least three syllables) when simpler words can do the job.
• Crafting shorter chapters.
• Using concrete details, with less left to inference.

Thoughts on Text Analyzers

Text analyzers are tools that help evaluate the readability and sometimes grade level of content. These are helpful for plain talk work.

But these are general diagnostic tools only. Keep in mind:

• These can help you make content accessible to more people, but they do not evaluate all accessibility aspects. This includes whether your content or web pages work well for people who use assistive technology such as screen readers.
• Text analyzers have various limitations. This includes how they evaluate short text passages and bulleted phrases.
• Pinpointing a reading grade level doesn’t tell us the value of the content to our readers. It also doesn’t reveal what life knowledge they have that influences their understanding of the content.

Plain talk tools I use as guides:

• Microsoft Word has a built-in analyzer with the Flesch Kincaid Test.
• I’m asked by editors of my hi-lo children’s book to put my manuscripts through the ATOS analyzer tool.
• In my state job, I often use this WebFx site to evaluate text passages across multiple analyzers to get an overall readability score.
• The Hemingway Editor App is also helpful. Replace the homepage introductory text with your passage and hit Enter to receive an analysis.

Ultimately, your readers need to tell you how accessible your content is. We conduct user testing when we can in my day job to learn directly how the information is working. This usually teases out more ways to improve.

What Do You Think?

Got any examples of how plain talk has helped you in everyday life or in enjoying stories? Or do you have examples of content that desperately needs a make-over? If so, please feel free to share.

And I hope you’ll help champion plain talk approaches in your community. We all deserve to understand information that helps us live healthy, safe and rewarding lives!