Expired Writing in Plain Language – Online Workshop

Plain language is more than short words and easy sentences; it’s a movement that aims to help organizations of all kinds communicate more clearly to their various stakeholders and audiences. Plain language helps organizations serve their end-users better by making sure that those users can easily (1) find what they need, (2) understand what they find, and (3) use what they find to meet their needs.

In this two-part remote workshop, Center for Plain Language board member Casey Mank will introduce participants to plain language and to a set of guidelines that can be used to drive better communications decisions at every level of a document or piece of web content.

This interactive, online program will run in two sessions, on Tuesday, November 3 and Thursday, November 5, 2020, giving participants a chance to review and begin applying plain language to a piece of existing content in between sessions. Live sessions will take place from 9:15 to 11:00 a.m. EDT.

In this workshop, you will…

• Learn the goals and guiding principles of the plain language movement
• Understand the role of audience awareness in effective plain language communication
• Learn and practice information design guidelines for user-friendly, navigable content
• Learn and practice style guidelines for reader-friendly sentences
• Understand the importance of user-testing content and why it’s always possible—and valuable—to seek user feedback even with limited budget or resources
• Understand the uses and limits of readability or grade level testing tools
• Begin to consider improvements to a piece of existing content by applying plain language principles as you learn them

About Casey

Casey is the Co-Founder of Bold Type, a women-owned communications training firm that creates professional development workshops to help people write more clearly and effectively at work. She has taught in composition classrooms and university writing centers for over 10 years, and currently works with graduate students at Georgetown University’s McDonough School and School of Nursing and Health Studies. She is a board member at the nonprofit Center for Plain Language, where she serves as head judge for the annual ClearMark Awards, recognizing the best in plain language communications. She is proud to have helped thousands of writers get to the point and reach their audiences with greater impact.