Writing Docs in Plain Talk
Learn how to lead readers to the right action and convey complex information clearly, in 7 simple steps. Write messages users will find, understand, trust, recall, and use.
Course Duration: 1 Day |7 hours
Certificate: Plain Language – Level 1
Participants: Up to 28
Audience: Public sector employees who must write usable documents in compliance with national and state laws.
We don’t dumb it down—we use the science behind usability to write useful documents.
Course Scope
Learn the general principles and guidelines of Plain Talk as they apply to public sector writing. Apply them to write instructions, policy, procedures, publications, and other documents well. Learn how to write and present information in ways that a wide variety of readers without specialized skill or experience can understand and use. Learn how to assess reading ease and gather feedback outside of formal usability testing.
Performance Objectives
Move beyond theory to practice using each principle in hands-on course activities, followed by review and discussion.
- Understand your users’ information needs, so you can do your best to meet them.
- Use simple, clear language.
- Use design thinking to help readers find relevant, important info more quickly and accurately.
- Support users who need to take required action, make sound decisions, or understand options.
- Keep sentences and paragraphs short.
- Use active sentences to clearly show who does what, when, and how.
- Help readers see how they relate to the message and make all requests and recommendations clear.
- Reduce and resolve conflict in your written responses to high-conflict messages.
Competency covered in this course: Written Communication
Certificate
Plain Language Level 1
This certificate shows your development hours and training in plain language standards compliant with national and state laws.