A recent news article referred to my years of work promoting plain legal language and legal literacy: http://www.lawyersweekly.ca/index.php?section=article&volume=31&number=26&article=3

Thinking about this, two things came to mind and I want to address them.

1. Plain Language vs Literacy

Twenty years ago many plain language proponents wanted to draw a bold line between the plain language and literacy issues. I think it was a defensive response to the accusations that we wanted to “dumb-down” legal writing and force lawyers to write to the “illiterate”.

In the Canadian Bar Association activities, we sometimes referred to “legal literacy” in an effort to point out that even the literate client lacked the legal context to understand much of legal writing. That is one way to deal with the barbs, but it still avoids the literacy issue.

2. Audience: a general public?

When the intended audience for a piece of legal information or for a consumer contract is the general public, literacy is an issue. Most plain language proponents would have said then that there is no “general public” since we do not have adequate information about their needs and abilities.

Twenty years ago, the first international literacy surveys were beginning to tell us quite a lot. We now know the literacy abilities of the working population versus the whole adult population. We know the differences in reading abilities between the native English speakers and others for whom English is not their first or preferred language.

Canada is one of the most literate countries, but we learned that about 17% Canadian of the  public could only recognize words or phrases but not decipher sentences.  About 26% could get meaning from sentences, but not well enough to decipher legalese. Another 35% has functional reading skills but cannot cope with legal jargon and does not have the context needed to truly grasp legal warnings, procedures, and instructions.

So, when we are dealing with the general public, especially in a multi-lingual, multi-ethnic society, we need to be clear, straight-forward, and thorough in the information we convey and how we say it.

A plain language writer or editor who does not understand the literacy situation in their country, does not understand their public.

K.D. Hoffman has expertise in applying theoretical communication to real world endeavors. Her blog is Healthy Change Communications. This is a blog about health communications. Hoffman says, “It’s about using behavioral science to deeply understand specific audiences. With deep understanding, health communicators can engage and inspire change, whether in the individual or in society.”

A current series of blog posts addresses the idea of Targeting vs Tailoring communication. The second post is relevant to our discussion and offers some more introductory-level explanation of cognitive fluency.

Part Two: Engagement…or how to make it matter

“We process messages in two ways, via central or peripheral processing… When people have little interest in a message, they tend to process it peripherally. When processing peripherally, they don’t think about the arguments in the message but rather they use cues like attractiveness, reputation or credibility to guide their decision to perform a behavior….

Alternatively, central processing is energy consuming. It is only engaged in when a message is very important and relevant to the person and when the person has the intellectual or technical ability… Processing centrally requires careful listening and evaluation of message content… Central processing is more likely to lead to long-term and stable change.

One of the best ways to engage the central processing route is to make your message relevant to the audience.  Tailoring achieves relevance.”

The full series of posts is available here, and there is more to come:

Part One Part Two PartThree

 
Expertise as Peripheral Processing

Now consider this older, alternate perspective from our new lens of cognitive fluency.  It provides a hint of the transition to be made in our thinking about writing to make thinking easy for readers with different levels of contextual knowledge.
 

From Farnam Street blog, On expertness and intuition, An excerpt fromHerbert Simon:
“We have seen that a major component of expertise is the ability to recognize a very large number of specific relevant cues when they are present in any situation, and then to retrieve from memory information about what to do when those particular cues are noticed.

“Because of this knowledge and recognition capability, experts can respond to new situations very rapidly- and usually with considerable accuracy. Of course, on further thought, the initial reaction may not be the correct one, but it is correct in a substantial number of cases and is rarely irrelevant. We usually use the word “intuition” – sometimes also “judgment” or even “creativity” – to refer to this ability of experts to respond to situations in their domains of expertise almost instantaneously and relatively accurately. [these] skills have the same basis in knowledge and recognition capability.”

From Simon’s book, Models of My Life. For more: Solution by Recognition and Choice Under Uncertainty.

I am not going to write here about the benefits of using plain language, which include costs savings and other bottom-line advantages. My complaint here is about those clients who do not understand how much time and effort we expend to transform their drab, wordy documents into plain language. First, I have to discuss what is actually involved.

South African Dr Sarah Slabbert, of the Plain Language Institute, has said:

“Editing or translation: First of all, the ‘linguistically complex document’, i.e. the document that needs to be converted into plain language, is rewritten or translated into plain language. During this phase, the document is analysed and the linguistic structure of the document is simplified, while taking care that the meaning is not distorted. Formal words are substituted with less formal words; for example, ‘accomplish’ will be replaced with ‘do’”

Quoted at http://www.enterpriserisk.co.za/forum/topics/what-is-plain-language-and-why

This may be what most general editors think should happen first. Plain Language is more than an editing job following the guidelines seen here and there. Maybe she incorporates this (below) when she says the document is analyzed.

Here: PlainLanguage.gov http://www.plainlanguage.gov/howto/guidelines/bigdoc/fullbigdoc.pdf

There:
• using short sentences and clear language
• using words consistently
• using the active voice
• avoiding strings of synonyms
• avoiding unnecessarily formal language
• replacing “legalese” and jargon with familiar terms and phrases

The PlainLanguage.Gov site does remind its users that plain language involves organization and design as well as language. But something is still missing from the early stage. Guidelines are fine as they are, but mine are more like these Writing Guidelines: http://plainlanguage.com/newintro.html#guide

What is in the magic?

I do have a recurring client who gets it. They send me a document and ask me to do my “magic.” Other people can do the magic. Writer or editor, you must know the readers well. Some understand their readers’ needs because they work with the same demographic repeatedly. The rest of us have to do the research to get to know the reader.

My own client does know their readers well. This client often hires academic experts to tell them what they need to teach their readers. The academics usually produce a thorough report using academic language, both jargon and necessary technical language.

So I get the document and do the magic so the information is understandable and usable by a group of readers, like one of these:

1. Women whose families are new immigrants to Canada from war-torn countries, whose first language is not English,
2. Aboriginal women, on reserve or in urban environments
3. Parents, with limited education, living in rural or isolated Northern areas of Canada

After doing the necessary reader research, the plain language editor must try to see the information through the eyes of the ultimate reader.

These days we try to ignore differences between ourselves and others, so we do not discriminate from prejudice. Plain language editors must acknowledge differences between people to benefit from seeing the world from the other person’s perspective.

Good clients understand the making information understandable requires more than editing. Being able to see the world differently, that is the magic.

Now, I will be talking dollar values in the next part of this article.

I inherited a tattered cookbook from my grandmother, a Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook from 1950. When I turned to it for a carrot cake recipe, there was none. So I checked for one in a 1990s cookbook I inherited from my father. This book started off the entry with, “Carrot cake is as American as apple pie”. Wow, what a big cultural change in a short period of time.

It seemed to me a more rapid adoption than the slow change in language to gender-free titles or the adoption of the use of the singular they pronoun.

Take the Rainbow

Back in the 1970s and 1980s, I enjoyed have out-of-town visitors to show around my city. I used those opportunities to visit a little shop that sold only rainbow items. The emotional connection that rainbows evinced at that time was joy.

The native peoples of the Andes had a different association which was expressed by using a rainbow of colors in their national symbol, the Wiphala, which is used as a square flag.

Some of these are made up of 7 bars of color while others are 7 x7 squares with the colors running diagonally. Some of their people want to avoid creating confusion in their international diplomacy about their flag’s meaning by adopting the diagonal format generally. See Wikipedia.

You know why, right?
There is now a mental association between gay and rainbow.

The rainbow may now become a symbol for the struggle for equal human rights. Anyway, as writers, editors, and designers, we need to check out the current interpretations of symbols we choose to use in communicating meaning.

Investigate Change in Meanings
To investigate new words that don’t even appear in a dictionary, I use UrbanDictionary.com. Rainbow has 57 new associations.

I was hoping I could find a visual thesaurus or visual dictionary that would be of assistance in this quest but I have not so far. They seem concerned with word labels not psychosocial meanings. For example:

Visible light Electromagnetic radiation that is perceived by the human eye and ranges from red to violet.

So, do check on alternative uses of the words and symbols you choose–to make sure you will communicate effectively.

Anishinabek outlaw term ‘aboriginal’

WHITEFISH RIVER FIRST NATION, ON,June 25 /CNW/ – Chiefs of the 42 member communities of the Anishinabek Nation have launched a campaign to eliminate the inappropriate use of the term “aboriginal”.

During the annual Grand Council Assembly in this Manitoulin Island community, Chiefs endorsed a resolution that characterized the word as “another means of assimilation through the displacement of our First Nation-specific inherent and treaty rights.”

“It’s actually offensive to hear that term used in reference to First Nations citizens,” said Grand Council Chief John Beaucage.

The resolution notes that the reference to “aboriginal rights” referred to in Section 35 of the Constitution Act of Canada “was never meant to assimilate First Nations, Metis and Inuit into a homogeneous group.”

—————————————————————————
June 21 is National Aboriginal Day because of the cultural significance of the summer solstice.

The first day of summer and longest day of the year, is celebrated as the rebirth of Mother Earth. The many Aboriginal communities mark this day as a time to celebrate their heritage.

Marking this day for First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples also recognizes their primary and founding place on this continent and their ongoing contributions as First Peoples.

The writing tip for today is that you can use the general term aboriginal, at least in Canada, to refer to First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples.

Today’s post is inspired by a recent Word of the Day from dictionary.com

Word of the Day Archive
Wednesday December 19, 2007

discursive \dis-KUR-siv\, adjective:
1. Passing from one topic to another; ranging over a wide field; digressive; rambling.
2. Utilizing, marked by, or based on analytical reasoning — contrasted with intuitive.

Discursive comes from Latin discurrere, “to run in different directions, to run about, to run to and fro,” from dis-, “apart, in different directions” + currere, “to run.”

Wikipedia

A word that can be used, depending on the circumstance, to mean both of two opposite concepts.

• Auto-antonyms are the same words that can mean the opposite of themselves under different contexts or having separate definitions
  • enjoin (to prohibit, issue injunction; to order, command)
  • fast (moving quickly; fixed firmly in place)
  • cleave (to split; to adhere)
  • sanction (punishment, prohibition ; permission)
  • stay (remain in a specific place, postpone; guide direction, movement)

Sanctions are frequently called for on the politcial stage and in the law. Sanction is one of those duplicitous words– it can can mean both reward and punishment.

This is a type of word to avoid. You cannot count on you reader giving the same interpretation to the circumstances that you do. So you cannot be sure your meaning will be understood. Far better to choose a simpler word.

I wan to share this report form the Publicity Hound:

Thanks to Publicity Hound Meryl K. Evans for reminding us not to use YouTube or podcasting as a replacement for any written content we currently provide.

“If you do, you could neglect a small but important audience– those with disabilities. The deaf, like me, can’t follow the video unless it’s obvious from visuals. The blind miss out on visual cues.”

She said [a] reporter in Dallas, includes a link to his video in every newsletter, “but thankfully he continues to provide content in the same newsletter.”

The number of people with disabilities has grown, especially with Baby Boomers losing hearing and eye sight as a result of getting older…

Reprinted from “The Publicity Hound’s Tips of the Week,” an ezine featuring tips, tricks and tools for generating free publicity. Subscribe at http://www.publicityhound.com/ and receive by email the handy list “89 Reasons to Send a News Release.”

This was my score on the test for dominance of the left or right brain.

You are more right-brained than left-brained.

You are able to visualize the “whole” picture first, and then work backwards to put the pieces together to create the “whole” picture. Your thought process can appear quite illogical and meandering. The problem-solving techniques that you use involve free association, which is often very innovative and creative. The routes taken to arrive at your conclusions are completely opposite to what a left-brained person would be accustomed. ..

Random processing is a method used by the right hemisphere for processing information. The information that is received is processed without priority. A right-brained person will usually jump from one task to another due to the random processing by their dominant right hemisphere. Random processing is, of course, the opposite of sequential processing…

I had planned to blog about writing with clarity under the monthly campaign by Joanna Young at Confident Writing .

But when I started scanning items in my blog reader, I was reminded that today is Blog Action Day to save the environment.

My mind was working on the problem of relating writing with clarity, integrity, and authenticity to the environment, which was raising something about a post I saw which draws a distinction between the market and the audience for public relations writers.

When I got to Confident Writing, Joanna’s post is on the day’s topic. I only scanned her post, but she seems to suggest that business cut back on paper if we writers cut down the number of words we take to say anything, and thus reduce the number of trees cut down.

It is a great idea, but it triggered my main concern with all the other environmental posts I read this morning. They were all aimed at individuals while major corporations and legislators and government get a free ride today.

Now back to the post at All Book Marketing:

In book marketing you cater to a target market (people who will buy your book). In book publicity and author publicity you cater to a target audience (includes your target market, but you can have many target audiences in addition to them, like niche groups, specific members of the media, etc.).

After reading this, I was playing with how to extrapolate the distinction to use it in teaching writing process.

Now my head is in a twirl. We have these issues to pull together to try to get a blog post up today:

1. Save the environment.
2. Write with clarity, integrity, and authenticity.
3. Apply the distinction between market and audience to our problem.
4. What is the message?

So I took a nap.

I, Cheryl Stephens, say this with clarity from a place of integrity and authenticity and, with genuine respect for my brother and sister bloggers, I offer this message:

• The environment is our lives. We must defend our lives and the lives of those who follow us.
• All our personal efforts cannot match those that are needed to meet this challenge. Those who are the greatest polluters must be stopped. They cannot avoid the cost of correction by threatening us with the collapse of the economy.
• The collapse of any economy built on the monopoly capitalist/imperialist model to serve only the aim of maximizing profit,will collapse of its own sins eventually. We do not have to continue to suffer its sins; we must design the solution and plan the future.
• Let us act, whether we write, sing, dance, perform, picket, or march, to reach:
• the market
• to pressure legislators for laws to protect the environment rather than their favorite financiers and business cronies
• to demand that government enforce the laws to protect the environment from rapacious capital
• the audience
• the people whose interest is in saving the environment now for future generations
• the opinion-makers in the media and academia

• The message is that it is already too late to solve this problem by modifying lifestyles and private consumption.

Whew!

I have been intending to introduce you to a writing blog that I have enjoyed reading for quite awhile now.

Here now you get the blogger, Kenneth W. Davis, who says:

“In this knowledge economy, writing is the chief value-producing activity. But you may not be writing as well as you could. That may be because you think writing requires a special talent.

In fact, writing is a process that can be managed, like any other business process. If you can manage people, money, or time-then you can manage your writing. And you can profit from the result.”

This particular set of Davis’ posts relates to the series here on dealing with audience diversity as a communication challenge. One related issue is self-knowledge: Know yourself better and you will be better able to understand your audience as well. These posts help you understand individual differences-in both writers and readers.

Manage Your Writing

By Kenneth W. Davis

Write to Type – 1

“You have a personality. So does your reader. To write effectively, you have to take personality into account, consciously or unconsciously.

Probably the most used way of categorizing personality is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, which measures personality on four scales. The first of those scales divides people into extroverts (E) and introverts (I), depending, very roughly, on whether they draw energy from other people (E) or from within themselves (I).

This week, as you plan each piece of writing, ask yourself “Am I an E or an I?” and “Is my reader an E or an I?” Then consider:

If you’re an extrovert, you may need to get all your thoughts on paper (or screen) very early; you may in fact “think by writing.” When you write to introverts, be sure to build community; don’t overwhelm them with your position.

If you’re an introvert, you may have trouble getting started; you might try drafting without editing as you go. When you write to extroverts, try to overcome your natural reticence and project self-assurance.

Nobody is entirely extroverted or introverted. But by paying attention to these tendencies in yourself and your reader, you’ll be able to get more things done with your writing.”

Write to type-2

“… think about the second variable of the MBTI: sensing (S) and intuition (N) (the letter I has already been taken). This variable measures whether you draw information primarily from your senses (S) or from your intuition (N). Roughly speaking, an S tends gather specific information, then process it (I saw this and this and this happen, therefore that must have happened). An N tends to grasp a situation intuitively, without being aware of the specifics (That seems to have happened, although I’m not sure why).

This week, as you plan each piece of writing, ask yourself “Am I an S or an N?” and “Is my reader an S or an N?” Then consider:

If you’re a sensor, be sure to move beyond the specific details in your writing and include generalizations or conclusions. When you write to intuitives, focus on your main point or points, not on details. (And be careful about trying to apply writing “rules” too rigidly; realize that you need to adapt to your specific writing situation. Make sure that you postpone your concern with spelling, punctuation, and other mechanics until the end of your revision process, where it belongs.)

If you’re an intuitive, make sure, as you plan a piece of writing, to gather a thorough list of facts and specific details. When writing to sensors, make sure to include enough details to support your main point or points.

As I said last week about the E-I dimension, nobody is entirely an S or an I. But by paying attention to these tendencies in yourself and your reader, you’ll be able to get more things done with your writing.”

Write to type-3

“… think about the third variable of the MBTI: thinking (T) and feeling (F). This variable measures roughly whether you make decisions primarily based on logic (T) or on emotions (F).

This week, as you plan each piece of writing, ask yourself “Am I a T or an F?” and “Is my reader a T or an F?” Then consider:

If you’re a thinker, be sure to pay attention to your reader’s possible feelings about your message. When writing to feelers, show empathy.

If you’re a feeler, you may need to be more structured and less sentimental. Pay special attention to organization. When writing to thinkers, make your message clear and logical.

Yes, I know this is getting to sound like a newspaper horoscope. But it’s based in hard reality. By paying attention to these tendencies in yourself and your reader, you’ll be able to get more done with your writing.”

Write to type-4

“… think about the last variable of the MBTI: judgment (J) or perception (P). This variable measures roughly whether you set priorities rationally (J) or spontaneously (P).

This week, as you plan each piece of writing, ask yourself “Am I a J or an P?” and “Is my reader a J or an P?” Then consider:

If you’re a judger, you may be sticking too rigidly to formulas that have worked for you in the past. When writing to perceivers, be sure to be flexible.

If you’re a perceiver, you may need to focus on your purpose and be concise. When writing to judgers, don’t be afraid to come to a conclusion and express it forcefully.

Of course you won’t know everything about your reader’s personality. And you may be writing to multiple readers. But in this case, questions are more important than answers. By taking a few moments to think about your personality, and that of your reader, you’ll do a better job.”