Who are you talking to with jargon? The cook or the customer?

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…

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Start Your Spring Cleaning with a Plain Language Project

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…

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Balancing Privacy and Machine Learning

If users don’t know the importance of their data and how to exercise their rights, we’re doomed Darren Redfern, CTO skritswap Machine Learning is a science that depends on algorithms. The algorithm tells the computer the exact steps needed to use data to solve a problem. The computer collects prior solutions to predict future solutions.…

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Set Your Style

Writing and Editing with Style: Sheets, Guides, and Manuals A corporate message may be crafted by a writer and reviewed by an editor or supervisor. Everyone saves time and effort when writers and editors have agreed in advance the use of a style sheet, style guide, or style manual. Each contributor brings a purpose and…

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What you mean to say is not what your customers are hearing.

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…

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The Public Speaks: Make it plain

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…

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