@Center forPlain Language

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PlainPlainResearch Award Goes toCenter Board MemberMinneapolis, Minnesota (May 15, 2007)

Advocates of plain language and clear informationdesign have always stressed the importance ofresearch, both in educating their clients and in guidingtheir practice. The Center for Plain Languagecongratulates Karen Schriver, a member of our board,for winning the 2007 Ken Rainey Excellence in ResearchAward.

The Society for Technical Communication establishedthis award to celebrate and honor the late professorKen Rainey (Southern Polytechnic University, Marietta,Georgia) and his passion for research that improvespractice. The award acknowledges exemplary lifelongresearch contributions that have made a positive,significant impact on practice and teaching.

According to the Society, “Schriver’s research ininformation design has had a lasting impact onpractice. Her 1997 book, Dynamics in DocumentDesign: Creating Texts for Readers, is recognized as anessential work in our field. Through her professionalwork, international dissemination of research results,and continuous outreach to the media, Karen hasbecome an ambassador for technical communicatorsworldwide. She is a valued authority in our field andcontinues to have a positive influence on theprofession.” (Intercom, May 2007, p. 31). The Societypoints out that Karen has won seven other researchawards and is a recognized information design expert.The citation on her award reads “For outstandingresearch contributions to information design, passionfor consumer advocacy, and exceptional service as aninternational ambassador for research.”

The same night, Karen was promoted to Fellow of the Society,“for advancing the understanding of research and best practicesto communicate with a diversity of audiences across skill levelsand cultures, and for significant mentoring and sharing withothers.”

i n s i d e t h i s i s s u e . . .“Plain Talk” is the Language Spoken in Northwest U.S.(Oregon andWashington) 2

News and Notes 3

The Plain Language Street Fighter — Part II 4

Show Me (Before-After Samples) 4

Save the Date 5

Suzanna Laurent, Chair, Society of Technical Communicators NominatingCommittee; Karen Schriver, receiving her second plague of the evening; LindaOestreich, President, Society of Technical Communicators.

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After a four-month journey that included national media attention andsupport from around the world, the “Plain Talk Oregon” legislation sponsoredby Representative Chuck Riley (D-Hillsboro), was signed into law by GovernorKulongoski on Thursday, May 17, 2007, during a signing ceremony at theOregon State Capitol.

“This is a good day for Oregonians,” Rep Riley said after the bill signing. “Thisbill is going to cut through confusing bureaucratic jargon, save tax dollarsand make our government runmore efficiently.”

"Where was Riley when I neededhim?" Governor Kulongoski saidwith a grin as he discussed aparticularly confusinggovernment document herecently read.

The bipartisan effort dubbed“Plain Talk Oregon,”will requireagencies within Oregon stategovernment to begin adoptingthe principles of communicationknown as “plain language.”

The bill sailed through the Oregon House and Senate by a 57-1 and 27-1margin, respectively. It went into effect immediately.

In the meantime, the Governor is adopting a government-wide plainlanguage plan that must be completed by November 1, 2007. The plan willthen be presented to the Oregon Legislature sometime in 2008.

For more information, contact: Rep. Chuck Riley— 503.936.5791

“Plain Talk” is the Language Spoken inNorthwest U.S.Plain Language Legislation Sails

Through 2007 Oregon Legislature

“Plain Talk” is anInstitution inWashington State’sCapital of Olympia

By Dana Howard Botka

Since Washington State GovernorChristine Gregoire signed her pageand a half “Plain Talk” Executive Order in2005, more than 4,300 state employeeshave taken the state’s plain languagetraining and about 30 agencies areworking on projects to overhaulconfusing form letters, web pages,forms, and citizen booklets.

Since early this year, all agencies havebeen required to have a “Plain Talk”coordinator reporting progress eachquarter to the Office of the Governor, amove that boosted interest andparticipation.

Many of the projects are ambitious —including one intensive effort to rewritethe vast number of letters and formssent to those who are receiving — orapply for — state assistance. Otherexamples include the WashingtonDepartment of Labor and Industries’overhaul of the paperwork used by allemployers when paying workers’compensation premiums. And, theDepartment of Health is revamping 260forms and letters automatically sent bythe hundreds of thousands each year.

The movement is not lost on even thesmallest boards, such as the Board ofIndustrial Insurance Appeals andEnvironmental Hearings Board. Both arerewriting legal documents containingappeal rights and instructions.

The Governor is planning an awardsevent in November 2007, and sponsorsthe state’s PlainTalkwebsite:www.accountability.wa.gov/plaintalk, whichwas created by state employees.

Salem, Oregon (July 2007)

Gov. Kulongoski presents Representative Riley with thefinished product

Oregon Representative Chuck Riley’s “Plain Talk Oregon”BillBecomes Law

agencies and commissions as she assists theGovernor’s Office with training and policy advice.Governor Gregoire issued her Plain Talk ExecutiveOrder in 2005.

� Amy Bunk is an attorney advisor with the USCoast Guard and was the Program CommitteeChair for the 2005 International Plain LanguageConference in Washington, DC. She is a long timemember of the Plain Language Action andInformation Network (PLAIN).

� John Spotila is the Chief Executive Officer of R3iSolutions, LLC, which specializes in providingbusiness transformation services to governmentcustomers. John served President Clinton asAdministrator of OMB’s Office of Information andRegulatory Affairs. Before coming to theWhiteHouse, he served as General Counsel for the USSmall Business Administration, where he led asuccessful effort to convert all of the SBA’sregulations into plain language, eliminating morethan half the pages.

Two Board members were reelected:

� Joanne Locke is Chair of PLAIN and PlainLanguage Advisor for the Office of DiseasePrevention and Health Promotion in the USDepartment of Health and Human Services,where she focuses on linking plain language andhealth literacy. She co-chaired the 2005International Plain Language Conference.

� Melodee Mercer is best known as Plain LanguageInstructor for the US Department of VeteransAffairs. Melodee’s award-winning satellite course,Reader-FocusedWriting, has trained thousands ofemployees to write in plain language. Melodeehas received many awards for her plain languagework, including the IRS Deputy Commissioner’sAward, the US Distance Learning Association’sOutstanding Instructor in Government Award,and the International Communicator’s CrystalAward of Excellence.

News & Notes

Federal Legislative UpdateSeveral plain language advocates continue work on Capitol Hill tostimulate introduction of a plain language bill at the federal level.Congressman Braley (Iowa) is planning to introduce a bill after theAugust recess. Congressman Braley is the chair of one of the SmallBusiness subcommittees, and is also on the House Committee onOversight and Government Reform. His staff is working with thestaff of the Oversight Committee to explore what provisions will beincluded in the bill.

On the Senate side, there has been some interest from SenatorAkaka’s office (Hawaii), and from several others on the SenateCommittee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs.

Hopefully, the next newsletter will contain details of enrolled bills inboth houses, as well as a request that you contact yourCongressmen and ask for their support.

Center Board Holds Planning RetreatMay 7, 2007. The Center Board of Directors held its first all-dayretreat to draft a strategic plan for the Center. Next, we’ll explorefunding opportunities that will help us achieve our mission ofpromoting plain language, providing communicators with guidanceon writing in plain language, and supporting research into plain-language issues and practices. The Board appreciates thecontribution of space for this event from John Milner Associates, Inc.

CenterWelcomes New Executive DirectorPlease join us in welcoming Don Byrne, the new Executive Directorof the Center for Plain Language. Don was Assistant Chief Counselfor Regulations at the Federal Aviation Administration for manyyears, prodding engineers and other lawyers to write clearly. Hehelped the agency implement the Clinton executive memo on plainlanguage and received one of Al Gore’s no-gobbledygook awards.Since his retirement from the government, he’s been working withJoe Kimble to develop plain language training for lawyers. As theCenter’s director, he will focus on implementing Center programsand providing day-to-day management support.

The Center Elects New Board of DirectorsJuly 1, 2007. The Center welcomes three new members and tworeturning members to the Board of Directors. New to the Board:

� Dana Howard Botka is the “Plain Talk” Coordinator forWashington Governor Christine Gregoire. In her position,Dana coordinates the plain language efforts of some 35 state

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The Plain LanguageStreet Fighter — Howto Handle Objectors

(Part II – Continued from Simply Plain, April–June 07)

More from the trenches — Here’s how to handle…

The Entrenched and Cautious. The risk-averse person may bereluctant to make a big change in writing style. “Isn’t lastyear’s report model good enough?” To combat this plainlanguage foe:

� Show why inaction can be more risky than action.

� Emphasize how the change to plain language canreduce problems down the road, including customercomplaints, the need to create explanatorydocuments, and even litigation.

The Bottom Line Person. The “It’s not in the budget” person ismotivated by profitability. To combat this plain languagefoe,

� Provide examples that make a business case (such asincreased sales or decreased costs). For example, anAustralian insurance company found a plain languagemanual increased staff ability to answer questionsabout a product by 106%. (Kimble, Joseph,“Answering the Critics of Plain Language,” 5 SCRIBES JLEGAL WRITING (1994–1995)).

The Deliberately Obscure. For these folks, “the impressionwas that an original, clearer draft was prepared and thenput through some sort of buzzword-generating program todeliberately obscure what was really being said.” TheDeliberately Obscure may be your most formidable PlainLanguage opponent. To combat this plain language foe,consider:

� Is a document delivered at the last minute? Are youbeing rushed? Is the writer unavailable? Is thedocument hard to read? Is it filled with jargon? Doesthe writer have anything to gain by being murky?

By Maureen Murphy, J.D.

Terms of Art are something we’re all sure our reader’sunderstand and they are usually shorter. But, are theybetter? In 1995, the Veterans Benefits Administration wassure that veterans knew what “Service ConnectedDisability”meant. After all, they were all in the serviceweren’t they? So, we happily tested our letter that read:

“You may be eligible for VA life insurance if youhave a service connected disability.”

Much to our surprise, we found that veterans had lots ofdifferent definitions. One thought it meant “injured inany job.” Another asked, “I was injured while in service,but I was on leave – does that count?”We could havetested the letter with dozens of employees. But, nothingreplaced testing with veterans who came to thedocument with their own personal issues. The “after”version reads:

“You may qualify for VA life insurance if youwere injured or disabled while you were in theservice and VA gave you a rating for yourinjury or disability.”

With this sentence the veterans we tested understoodour intended meaning.

If you have a “before-after” example you’d like us to use,send it to editor@centerforplainlanguage.org.

Show MeBefore-After Examples

By Melodee Mercer

Here are some steps that will help deal with theDeliberately Obscure and help you assess andimprove a draft document:

1. Do a quick visual review.2. Break the text into chunks.3. Itemize inconsistencies and illogical

sequences.4. If necessary, create your own “Plain

Language” version.5. Show the draft to others, and ask for

feedback.6. Use the feedback to improve the draft.7. Don’t take “no” for an answer. (Hang tough!

Your readers will appreciate your fortitude.)

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Cen t e r f o r P l a i n L a ngu ag eA b o u t t h e C e n t e rThe Center is incorporated in the Commonwealth of Virginia as a non-stock, not-for-profit corporation under Section 501(c)(3) of theInternal Revenue Code.

News l e t t e r E d i t o r sMelodee MercerAnne McCannEric Spears

Boa rd Membe r sAnnetta Cheek, ChairJoanne Locke, Vice ChairLee Clark Johns, TreasurerMelodee Mercer, SecretaryDeborah BosleyDana BotkaAmy BunkKaren SchriverWilliam A. SmithJohn Spotila

E xe c u t i v e D i r e c t o rDon Byrne

We’r e on t h e Web !www.centerforplainlanguage.org

E -ma i leditor@centerforplainlanguage.org

Pub l i s h i n gThanks to Kleimann Communication Group, Inc., forassisting in the publication of this newsletter.

SAVE THE DATE of OCTOBER 12, 2007

for the Center’s Annual Symposium:

Plain Language: Public Policy and Good Business

Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman

Christopher Cox, our keynote speaker, will discuss the needfor plain language in promoting transparency in investorinformation. After speaking, he will take questions from theaudience and join us for a VIP reception in his honor.

Madeleine Yates (Merrill Lynch) and Max Dietshe (Addison)

will demonstrate how plain language and simplifiedcommunications meet regulatory requirements, whiledriving measurable business goals, improving the clientexperience and producing significant savings.

Peggy Foran (Pfizer),William Lutz, and Gordon Akwera

(Addison) will show that plain language and informationdesign produce a compensation discussion and analysisstatement that is transparent and readable while meetingall regulatory requirements.

Location ......................................Hyatt Regency Capitol HillGeneral Session........................................................1 to 4 p.m.VIP Reception honoring Chairman Cox ................4 to 6 p.m.General Reception ..................................................4 to 6 p.m.

Ticket sales begin July 16, 2007. Space is limited, so make yourreservations early by visitinghttp://www.centerforplainlanguage.org/events/symposium_07.html.