Posts by Cheryl Stephens

Cheryl Stephens Building and keeping plain language support The importance of integration Plain language can be a moderate change in direction or a massive switch in your methods. Either way, you will be asking colleagues to do what they do differently. The best approach to get support is to integrate it into existing methods and…

Write for everybody: What to do instead of chasing grade levels Most people misunderstand the intended use for readability scoring by computer algorithm. Teachers and textbook publishers assign grade levels so that students are using materials that improve their language skills. The material is meant to be challenging. But when selecting learning materials for other…

Is your jargon just shorthand or is it inconsiderate? When someone criticizes the use of jargon, other people may feel threatened. Or they’ll say: It is just shorthand in our field. The problem is that people newly working in your field or students preparing to enter your field don’t know what it means. Many people…

What to consider when planning a plain language project by Cheryl Stephens Keeping your project plans clear When drafting a project plan, it is important to keep it clear, concise and coherent (logically organized) so that contributors can coordinate their efforts. Project plans succeed when there are clear instructions, visible benefits, and recorded results. Here…

A survey released by Invesco in January shows that your language matters and it affects how customers feel about retirement investment plans. The survey sought the views of millennials, Generation X and boomers. Turns out everyone prefers personalized, plain English and positive, short descriptions. “Our research found that many participants find their retirement plan to…

Christopher Trudeau’s latest research, The Public Speaks, Again: An International Study of Legal Communication shows us that using plain language is what people want and what workplaces need to be more productive. The study shows that the more educated you are the more you prefer plain language: 79% of undergrad degree holders 82% of master’s…

Joseph Fung, skritswap’s lead investor, shares our aim to improve information equity. Last year, he affirmed his confidence: “This is one of those no-brainer technologies that needs to exist – not only can it save billions in wasted costs, but it can make life better for millions of people around the world.” By definition, a…

Family Literacy Day came on Monday. Did it escape your attention? Literacy challenges are too important to your organization to ignore. People tend to think of literacy as something that you either have or you don’t have, but in recent decades we’ve come to understand literacy as a range of skill levels. Literacy is a…