Why a plain language refresher is worth it: 4 game-changing benefits
By Tom Wadsworth
Did you know that learners forget what they’ve learned within days or weeks if they don’t make an effort to review it? If you saw our blog on the forgetting curve, you might remember this concept. Then again, you might have forgotten …
If you’ve already invested in your team by sending them to a plain language workshop, you might think you’ve done all you can to get their writing up to scratch.
But as with other workplace learning, plain writing skills can fade over time. Even the most enthusiastic adopter will find that old habits start to creep in, making it harder to recall the new writing tools and plain language principles they learned during the course.
Soon you might start noticing that:
- you’re spending too much time rewriting your team’s documents
- decision-makers are complaining about your team’s documents
- your team is taking too long to finish documents
- your team is still using a lot of complex language.
Sound familiar?
In the public sector, clear and effective communication matters. To deliver quality service and build public trust, writing in plain language is a must. If your team has forgotten the principles, it’s time for a refresher.
In this article, we look at 4 benefits of a plain language refresher and point out some of the telltale signs that a team’s plain language skills might be getting a little rusty.
You’ll spend less time reworking your team’s documents
Do you dread reading drafts from your team? Are you finding consistent problems, such as poorly structured arguments, unclear design, or wordy and complicated expression?
What do you do about it? If you tend to rewrite your team’s documents, chances are they will start to expect that from you. They’ll tell themselves, ‘Well, it doesn’t really matter if my draft isn’t that good. My manager will fix it.’
Oh, the nerve of some people! But it happens. And you can understand why.
If this is happening to you, then it’s time to help your team refresh their skills.
Decision-makers will say ‘yes’ faster to your team’s documents
Are your team’s documents clear enough for decision-makers? Frequent draft rejections can hurt your team’s reputation and frustrate your readers.
Time-poor readers don’t want to hunt for key information. They want it delivered on a silver platter. When the reader doesn’t get that 5-star butler service, they get frustrated. ‘Why are you making me work hard for this?’, they think. Or worse, they don’t think that – they simply reject the document.
Plain language principles focus not only on the wording but also on the structure and design of the document. These latter elements have the greatest impact on clarity, flow and persuasiveness. Our refresher courses will remind your team how to don those white gloves, take control of the document’s message and get to the point. Fast.
Your team will finish documents efficiently and on time
Public sector documents must be clear, precise and delivered quickly. If writers feel they can’t achieve these standards, they often feel overwhelmed before they even begin. This anxiety can arise because they lack either:
- the skills needed to write efficiently
- the confidence to apply their skills.
This can lead to workflow bottlenecks as writers struggle to draft their documents and take too long to finish them.
A plain language refresher will remind your team about our foolproof writing, editing and planning tools. These will help writers approach their work confidently and complete it more efficiently.
Your team will write in simple, impactful language
Did you know that 44% of Australian adults have low literacy levels? This means that their reading skills are only at primary or junior secondary school level. When your team uses complex language, the risk is that around half of their readers will miss the message.
And it will start to show up in your client interactions. Have you noticed an increase in unanswered emails? Or perhaps more clarification calls to the department? These are signs that you’re probably using overly complicated language.
Some people use big fancy words because that’s what they did at school or uni. Others lack confidence in what they’re writing about, so they use big words and complex sentences to compensate. Whatever the reason, big words and long sentences work against you because the text becomes harder to read. When readers struggle to follow along, documents fail to achieve their purpose.
A refresher workshop will help your team write as clearly and as simply as the content dictates to allow the meaning to shine through. With clear communication, you’ll build trust and see better results.
Next steps
So, don’t wait until the cracks appear. Act now and reap the benefits of clear, concise writing from your team. Save time wasted on revisions, enhance your team’s credibility with decision-makers and empower your team to finish documents on time while reaching their intended audience.
Every document has a job to do, and it does it better when your team writes it in plain language. Reacquaint your team with the principles of plain language. Enrol them in an online refresher course today! Or talk to us about how you can save with our new training bundles.
