Plain Language Association International (PLAIN) Fourth Biennial Conference Proceedings
	Toronto, Canada — September 26 - 29, 2002

Session Topic	Presentation Title	Speaker
Opening Plenary	Plain Language: The international pilgrimage Religion has nothing to do with plain language, right? Christine masterminded the Steering Committee's surprise entrance to the PLAIN 2002 conference in pilgrim garb. We often forget the international sweep of our movement. Christine's opening speech was an around-the-world and across-disciplines voyage to explore the heart of plain language.	Christine Mowat
	A Brief History of Plain Language Although we often think of George Orwell's classic essay on the politics of language as the starting place for the plain language movement, we are part of a tradition of advocacy for grace, simplicity, and equity in communication that goes back to Chaucer and beyond him, to the hybrid beginnings of the English language. Sally's short historical tour honoured the work of the plain language pioneers in our midst.	Sally McBeth
	On the "Bridge" and in the "White Space": What to do between sessions Michelle told delegates about the conference activities she had organized around the concepts of bridges and white space. Bridges are structures that help people and things connect. On the bridge or walkway area of the hotel, we brought the work of our international community together in displays of plain language resources and examples. Document designers often promote blank or white space to give readers' eyes a place to rest between text and graphics. Our conference "white space" was the informal, unstructured places where we relaxed and consolidated the knowledge gained during the scheduled program. NEW! CBC Radio transcript On October 1, 2002, as a follow-up to the PLAIN 4th Biennial Conference, Co-chair Michelle Black appeared on CBC Radio One's Ontario Today Phone-in with host David Stephens. The question for callers was, "Who do you think needs a lesson in plain language?" This transcript appears with the permission of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.	Michelle Black
F1 The global village: International language & communication standards for the Web	Plain Language in the Global Village The rules of plain language, says Stephen, may have been written only for a domestic audience. In this talk, he demonstrated how and why the style must be modified when editing for international or multicultural markets. One culture's plainness, for example, may be another culture's rudeness.	Stephen Roney
	The Plain Web The Web is a vast library filled with writing that is often as far from plain language as it is possible to get. Chuck's talk focussed on the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines that relate to plain language. Governments and commercial organizations around the world are adopting W3C standards as law or policy. Chuck hopes to get more plain language professionals involved in the work of the W3C.	Chuck Letourneau
F2 Literacy & plain language in Canada: New data, tools, and strategies at the federal level	Literacy and Plain Language in Canada: New data, tools, and strategies at the federal level Not available Luc presented the results of the most recent surveys conducted by Communication Canada on low literacy. He discussed the difficulties that Canadians have identifying, understanding and using information. He and his colleague, Jean Ouimet, explained how this was affecting communication planning at the Canadian federal level.	Luc Constant
	Assessing the Complexity of Literacy Tasks Michel presented a new tool called "Assessing the Complexity of Literacy Tasks." It is designed to help document designers understand the ability levels of readers as defined in the International Adult Literacy Survey. This complexity-rating tool, based on the work of Irwin Kirsh and Peter Mosenthal, can help information designers ensure that the level of complexity of public information matches the literacy level of the target readers. It complements plain language techniques and can deal with some of the shortfalls of readability formulas based on school grade levels.	Michel Gauthier
F3 Plain language in the new European Union	Plain Language in Sweden: a Progress Report Bengt and Maria talked about the successful European Law Conference held during Sweden's presidency of the Union and their attempts to move the European Union away from a traditional, bureaucratic way of writing legislation. They also described a new tool developed by a linguist to evaluate the comprehensibility of communications from the Swedish public authorities. They presented the results of that evaluation and of other projects.	Bengt Baedecke Maria Sundin
F4 The progress of plain language in the United States: A federal perspective and new research on plain language judgements	The Progress of Plain Language in the US: A federal perspective Not available Joe recently revised an opinion of the Michigan Court of Appeals using plain language guidelines and tested both versions with about 250 Michigan lawyers. He presented the two opinions, the questionnaire, and the results. He explained the legal issue and stressed that you don't have to be a lawyer to see the difference. This was a world première for Joe's research.	Joseph Kimble
	The Progress of Plain Language in the US: A federal perspective Joanne reported on progress made since PLAIN's Houston Conference by the agencies that are still active members of the U.S. Plain English Network. She commented on what the change in the Administration has meant and described recent projects in the FDA as well as the Department of Health and Human Services. Joanne also looked at how the events following September 11 underscored the importance of clear communication in public health.	Joanne Locke
F5 Did a Butterfly Elect George Bush? The implications of design on voter literacy	Did a Butterfly Elect George Bush? The Implications of Design on Voter Literacy Not available No recent document has been studied as thoroughly as Florida's infamous "butterfly ballot" for the 2000 U.S. Presidential election. The voting medium, the wording of the ballot, the ballot design, and even related ergonomic factors have been studied closely. The results reveal a wide range of ways that this simple ballot failed to communicate with voters.	Greg Ioannou
F6 Health: How plain language makes a difference	Health: How Plain Language Makes a Difference Not available	Helen Osborne
	The Road to Recovery Project Carolyn described a project called Home Care after a Heart Attack, for which her company was asked to design some forms. What evolved was something much more than a few forms. She shared the story of how the project won Best of Show in a Society for Technical Communication competition.	Carolyn Watt
F7 Business and finance: Progress at the British Columbia Securities Commission and the Office of the Auditor General of Alberta	Plain Language: A case study at the British Columbia Securities Commission Joyce and the British Columbia Securities Commission firmly believe that securities regulations should be clear and understandable to all investors, regardless of their sophistication, as soon as possible. She described their ambitious program to train 200 staff in the principles and practice of plain language. They did not stop there, however. While BCSC's jurisdiction is provincial, its capital markets are essentially national. Joyce and her colleague Michael Bernard have worked tirelessly with other provinces and with the Canadian Securities Association to promote harmonization.	Joyce Maykut
	A Plain Plan In the fall of 2002, Merwan Saher and his team launched a project to further improve their annual report. He will describe how they got the needed support from management, ensured that auditors retained control of their writing, and provided needed resources. “Changing the way you communicate,” says Merwan, “will change the way you do your work".	Merwan Saher
F8 The Law: Why change time-honoured practices? A debate	The Assumptions Behind Plain Legal Language In a panel discussion chaired by Joseph Kimble, Brian Hunt and Peter Butt argued the assumptions behind the use of plain legal language. Brian posed the questions: Is there really a demand for plain language legislation? Would plain language legislation function as intended? Peter presented evidence from recent research supporting the claim that plain language benefits legal documents and statutes.	Peter Butt
	Plain Language in Legislative Drafting: An Achievable Objective or a Laudable Ideal? In a panel discussion chaired by Joseph Kimble, Brian Hunt and Peter Butt argued the assumptions behind the use of plain legal language. Brian posed the questions: Is there really a demand for plain language legislation? Would plain language legislation function as intended? Peter presented evidence from recent research supporting the claim that plain language benefits legal documents and statutes.	Brian Hunt
F9 The global village: Getting the message across in languages other than English	The Global Village: Getting the message across in languages other than English: The Canadian example Not available	Silvia Dancose
	Getting the Message Across in Languages Other than English: The Canadian example This session is of special interest to plain language professionals who are increasingly asked about issues of clarity in translation. Do the syntax and vocabulary of romance languages require techniques different from those used in English to achieve clarity? What are the differences, and what principles hold true across languages?	Nicole Fernbach
F10 Health: Models for developing plain language materials and for training health care providers in these skills	Hey, I can read that! Perspectives on plain language and people with developmental disabilities Jean talked about how teams of people with developmental disabilities create plain documents. She described how they do it and how this work has changed her as a person. Janet discussed some of the problems of producing materials for people who have more difficulty reading and understanding. She gave suggestions based on experience and talked about the effects of the plain language movement on the rehabilitation profession.	Janet Pringle Jean Ross
	Training Health Care Providers in Plain Language Health care practitioners are increasingly aware of the need for easier-to-read, plain language materials for patients and their families. If people working in health care are responsible for choosing and developing appropriate print materials, they need to learn some new skills. Audrey described the evolution of an in-depth, "institute" model that has been used to successfully train more than 75 health care providers a year for the last 11 years, in two U.S. locations.	Audrey Riffenburgh
F11 The law: New language and a new look for Canadian legislation	Enacting Legislation? How About Communicating It Too? Traditionally, a statute is a message of the sovereign to the people (at least in Canada!). The accent is not on communicating the information it contains. Philippe described a prototype project of Justice Canada to develop a more accessible act. If this prototype is approved by Parliament, all federal legislation in Canada would be drafted using some or all of the features developed for the Employment Insurance Act. Philippe presented those features at this session and talked about the evolution of a new writing culture for legal drafters.	Philippe Hallée
F12 Business and finance: Case studies in problem-solving and improved performance	Plain Language as Problem-Solver A training and consulting project with a recently merged accountancy firm in New Zealand provided Jacquie with some interesting insights into the increasing relevance of plain language to intensely competitive commercial environments. She worked with people from a range of levels within the firm to redesign the monthly reports they made to their clients. Plain language consultants will appreciate the main lesson of this project: the support of those at the top of the organisation is essential.	Jacquie Harrison
	Business and Finance: Case studies in problem solving and improved performance Not available Rose's firm has partnered with two large Canadian companies in the telecommunications and financial services industries on a groundbreaking project to study and demonstrate the economic benefits of shifting to plain language. They intend to prove, quantitatively and qualitatively, that a positive return on investment and other performance benefits result from using plain language on corporate intranets. Rose outlined the project's methods and described the results so far.	Rose Grotsky
Keynote address	Doublespeak in Corporate Communications Not available	William Lutz
S1 The Global Village: Clear, cross-cultural communication	The Global Village: Clear, cross-cultural communication Not available	Janet Ohene-Frempong
S2 Health: Effective verbal and online communication	Health: Effective verbal and online communication Not available Verbal communication is critical to health care, but, unfortunately, there is often a gap between what patients understand and what health care professionals expect them to know. Judy framed her discussion of health care interaction using three contextual concepts: power and control, social status and class, and culture and vocabulary. She shared examples from research literature and practical experiences.	Judy King
	Nutrition Educators Learn Plain Language Basics: On-Line, Quick and Easy Nutrition educators who choose and develop print materials need to learn plain language skills. However, distance, budgets, and time can limit attendance at trainings. To address these challenges, nutrition educators with the Oregon State University Extension Service developed Web-based information modules. Ellen described this exciting project and the positive reaction it has received from users.	Ellen Schuster
S3 The law: Practical issues in legal drafting	A Dainty Dish to Set before the King: Plain Language and Legislation One of the seminal points in the development of plain statutory language is the change from the imperative "shall" to "must." Although apparently small, this has proved to be a key marker of the adoption of plain language legislation. Nick discussed how this shift helps us understand what is different about the way legislative language functions, and argued that such an understanding is necessary if drafters are to continue to pursue effectiveness and clarity.	Nick Horn
	The Triangle Triage Technique: Polishing the Document Professor Lantzy presented a workshop in the Triage Technique for perfecting legal documents. This technique breaks down the process of document development into separate, ordered stages. She used legal materials to illustrate common problems and explain how this approach helps the writer to solve them.	M. Louise Lantzy
S4 Case studies: Changing the writing culture in a large financial institution and a large public health department	Clear Language and Organizational Change The goal of Public Health is to promote and protect health and prevent disease. Jamie explained how, at Halton, clear language is one component of a larger "Equal Access Strategy" that aims to remove barriers to public health services. Participants who attended this presentation learned about the energy needed to champion a clear language strategy in a dynamic, multidisciplinary environment; and the rewards that accrue to an organization embracing change.	Jamie Lamothe
	Plain Language at American Express Not available At American Express, call centre agents may respond to 100 inquiries in a day. They need current and relevant information that is easy to understand. The reference material they were using, compiled over the years by subject matter experts, was very formal and relied heavily on internal jargon and acronyms. Ian described how he championed a plain language approach to communicating information about products, policies, and procedures.	Ian Cooper
S5 Plain Language and Worker Leadership	Plain Language & Worker Leadership: The Canadian Labour Congress Takes on the Challenge The Canadian labour movement spends a great deal of time and money on communications with its 3.5 million members, who are spread across Canada in a vast range of jobs and with a wide variety of education and language backgrounds. Messages about workers' rights, social justice, and solidarity do not always have the impact intended. Barbara and Tamara's presentation looked at how the Canadian Labour Congress has taken significant steps to raise the issue of clear language within the Canadian labour movement.	Barbara Byers Tamara Levine
S6 What's New With Grammar, Style, and Usage in the Digital Age? A practical, interactive session with a master editor and author	What's New With Grammar, Style, and Usage in the Digital Age? A practical, interactive session with a master editor and author Not available	Bill Sabin
S7 The "Why and How" of Plain Language: An introduction and news from the British Plain English Campaign	Plain English Campaign, UK George and John talked about language and empowerment - giving consumers the information they need to run their lives effectively and safely. They gave examples of baffling communication, and explained why people use complicated language. They discussed some of the myths that surround the term "plain language" and showed how the techniques go beyond just crafting the words. Finally, they used case studies to illustrate the benefits of plain language - efficiency, profitability, precision, and consumer satisfaction.	George Maher John Wild
S8 Designing a Business Communications Course at WITS University, South Africa	Business communication for accountants at Wits South Africa has 27 spoken and 11 official languages, and no uniform level of proficiency in English. Yet education, access to information and transparency are basic human rights, according to the new constitution. Plain language therefore plays a vital role in attaining these goals. Because plain language skills are also necessary for successful participation in the business community, the School of Accountancy at the University of the Witwatersrand developed a Business Communications course. Deirdre described the rationale for and design of the course, with a focus on the centrality of plain language.	Deirdre Viviers
International Plenary Panel Plain language progress around the world	Plain Language Progress Around the World Conference delegates, from the Plain Language Association International (PLAIN) Fourth Biennial Conference, gathered after lunch on Saturday in the Main Ballroom to hear a panel of colleagues report the challenges and prospects for change they see in the nine nations where they do their plain language work.
S9 The global village: International business and technical communication	English in Intercultural Business: The Issue of Slang Sana examined the impact of slang on international business communication, offering examples of current business slang and possible misinterpretations. Her presentation included a historical perspective and a discussion of how slang terms arise, and provided techniques to decipher many current slang expressions.	Sana Reynolds
	AECMA Simplified English Poppy gave a brief history of how and why Simplified English (SE) was developed, and an overview of the SE rules for vocabulary and grammatical style. A before-and-after analysis of cautions and warnings showed the benefits of SE to an industry in which quick and clear understanding of maintenance procedures is a vital safety consideration.	Poppy Quintal
S10 Using readability tools	Using Readability Tools With the growing popularity of readability formulas, it is important to appreciate what they are good for and not good for. Handled properly, they can produce marvellous results. Not handled properly, they can actually reduce comprehension. Like other forms of testing, the formulas find problems. Finding solutions requires a writer's skill. Bill introduced participants to a number of tools and outlined the key principles and techniques that lead to their proper use.	William DuBay
S11 Case studies: Strategies for changing the writing culture in legal and insurance companies	How Dolly Cruikshank Changed the Writing Culture of a Law Firm Tim has applied his creative writing experience to his position as a precedents manager. He described how his use of humour and fictional characters in his regular newsletters have made the firm's writing culture less pompous and more conscious of good writing.	Tim Miles
S12 "So, what do you do for a living?" Advice from an expert on marketing your plain language services	Creating a 30-second commercial: How to "grab 'm & sell 'm" If you attend breakfast meetings, luncheons, trade shows, or social gatherings, you need to have a ready-made answer to the question "What do you do?" For plain language professionals, it's not always easy to come up with a snappy answer. At the end of this interactive workshop, participants could develop a 30-second commercial that clearly described what their company does and how their products or services can benefit customers.	Danna Yuhas
Closing Plenary	Plain Language: beyond a 'movement' No longer a movement. More than a compliance issue. Plain language is essential for excellent customer and client service. And it's a distinguishing feature that customers and clients value. Plain language has evolved to become a product, or a business, or an industry. This development promises benefits for all: greater access to justice, improved efficiency and effectiveness, and increased respect for the rule of law. Now that plain language has come of age, we need to see it afresh. How? In this closing address, Christopher suggested some fascinating answers to that question, to help to send us home with renewed purpose.	Christopher Balmford
POSTINGS	Postings in the "White Space": Before/after documents from delegates and suggested resources Before and after: Press release Before and after: Consumer brochure Before and after: Health information Before and after: Government memo Before and after: Guaranteed Income Supplement Application Before and after Client pension letter and attachment Before and after: Spousal Benefits calculation Suggested resources

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