Workshops

Session 1

Leaving legalese

David Brown, Human Resources Manager, A J Park

When A J Park, intellectual property lawyers and patent attorneys, decided to embrace plain English, it wasn’t all plain sailing. David Brown shares the do’s and don’ts, the challenges, and the benefits of launching an ambitious plain English project across their highly respected firm of 200 staff.

We don’t use ‘insurance speak’

Brian Lenehan, Product Development and Marketing Manager, Asteron (underwriter for AA Life)

When you make plain language a very public part of your brand, you have a lot to live up to. Brian Lenehan shares the strategies AA Life put in place to successfully deliver on its plain English promise.

Plain English from ground zero

Tanya Piejus, Communications Adviser, Department of Building and Housing

What happens when an editor’s frustration with jargon and gobbledygook boils over? Tanya Piejus explains how a passion for clarity turned into a crusade for change in the Government’s newest department.

From plain language to F-language: Training online content writers

Rachel McAlpine, Director, Quality Web Content Ltd

The core principle of plain language, to write for the intended reader, is also the key to usability and accessibility. In the case of online content, the intended reader happens to be looking at a screen, which creates unique problems for readers and writers. Plain language is the minimum requirement, and F-language is the next step, adapting structure and style to the online environment.

Rachel McAlpine demonstrates a new online content solution: QWICKIT. Based on the F-language approach, it’s a standards-based, cost-effective, continuous training kit for content writers.

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Session 2

How to use plain English editing software to support your plain English culture

Michelle Eathorne, WriteCoach Manager, Write Group Limited

StyleWriter is a great online editor that helps you edit your work to plain English standard. Write Group staff use this software regularly. You can customise it to be consistent with your house style. StyleWriter is a fabulous training tool and an ongoing help for all writers.

Michelle Eathorne will demonstrate StyleWriter. The software:

suggests plain English alternatives for many words and phrases
measures and questions your use of long sentences and passive verbs
offers plain English teaching tips so you learn as you use it.

Come along and see how StyleWriter works and how you can customise it for your organisation.

Keeping plain language alive through coaching and mentoring

Jacquie Harrison, Head of School, School of Communication, Unitec

Learn the basics of coaching and mentoring staff who’ve had plain English writing training but need more help. Jacquie Harrison looks at setting and maintaining standards within the organisation, motivating staff to take responsibility for the quality of the documents they draft; encouraging constructive criticism; and testing to ensure documents are reader-focused and effective.

Legal documents — how ‘plain’ can you go?

Richard Castle, Legal writer

A practising plain English lawyer for many years, Richard Castle has heard and responded to the many critics within his profession who don’t, or won’t, embrace a plain English style. Richard shares rare insight into the world of plain English drafting — what’s possible and what’s not.

How to keep your customers happy with plain English

David Russell, Chief Executive, Consumers' Institute

What do businesses need to do to avoid getting the Consumers’ Institute This is gobbledygook sticker on their documents? What types of documents keep customers happy? David Russell outlines some of the lessons New Zealand industries have learned as a result of Consumers’ Institute intervention.

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Session 3

Nothing plain about plain language!

Christine Mowat, Vice-Chair of Plain Language Association INternational (PLAIN)

Christine Mowat will lead an interactive ‘how to’ workshop using her CLARITY model of plain language. Christine will show how plain language has come of age, inspiring new research, ambitious projects, positive government action, and international gatherings.

Participants will see for themselves that plain language is far from ‘dumbing down’ and oversimplifying. Instead plain language retains precision and richness, while at the same time making meaning accessible and attractive to its readers.

Creating a plain English culture at your place

Melodee Mercer, Department of Veterans’ Affairs, USA

Melodee Mercer will lead a practical workshop that will help public sector writers consider what they need to do to change their organisation’s culture from ‘bureauspeak’ to plain language.

Melodee will walk participants through a model start-up process, giving them time to work through how the ideas might apply to individual organisations. Participants will leave with a worksheet of things they may want to try in their organisations.

Changing goals can set us free

Christopher Balmford, Cleardocs, Australia

Christopher Balmford will explore how to free writers from their misconceived — and usually unrecognised — urge to sound like ‘whatever it is they are’. For example, lawyers often want to write in a way that makes them ‘sound like a lawyer’. Other people want to sound like a banker, a marketing expert, a policy analyst, and so on. These are false goals. They generate an approach to writing that hinders communication and sabotages brands.

Through an interactive exercise ‘live at the whiteboard’, the group will see how a plain language approach can make the worst documents clear — even legal documents. In turn, plain language helps build businesses and organisations that obviously value and deliver clear communication.

Will it work? Measuring effective writing

Neil James, Plain English Foundation, Australia

Neil James will demonstrate two specific measures of plain English benchmarking. The interactive workshop will start with how to assess readability. Neil will review the available tools and explore what they reveal about a range of demonstration samples. Then he will tackle the challenge of measuring structure by applying structure mapping to a longer report.

You’ll learn how to use plain English performance indicators not only to improve the readability and structure of documents, but also to transform the writing culture of your entire organisation.

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