Clear Communication Archives - Judy Gregory Writer

Tweed Shire Council takes plain English gold

Tweed Shire Council achieves 2 gold-level certifications for plain English Congratulations to Tweed Shire Council which, in 2021, achieved gold-level certification with PlainLanguagePro for two major documents Tweed demonstrated its commitment to plain English in both its website and its revised Drought and Water Restrictions Policy This makes Tweed Shire Council the first council in NSW to achieve gold-level certification with PlainLanguagePro, and the first council in Australia to...

Bias in the bottle shop

Last Sunday, for the first time in my life, I was refused service at a bottle shop The charge: purchase with intent to supply a minor I was momentarily speechless Then I started to assure the cashier he was wrong I had no intention of supplying alcohol to a minor, and couldn’t understand why he’d conclude that I would And then I realised there was no point I had no power in this situation The cashier (who was only just beyond being a minor himself) had made his decision about my...

Triple the butter: A plain English approach to recipes

My bread, with triple butter I’ve been doing some comfort baking – a spicy, oaty sweet bread topped with rosemary-infused syrup Delicious! But when I put my dough aside to rise, I discovered I’d used triple the required butter And that got me thinking about how the recipe’s construction encouraged me to make the mistake Recipe reading needs reasonably high literacy Good recipe writing requires a thoughtful understanding of how readers interact with the text while they’re...

Logan: Gold Standard for Plain English

Logan City Council website meets a gold standard for plain English This week, Logan City Council became the first council in Australia to achieve gold-level certification for its website from PlainLanguageProThe certification confirms that Logan City Council applied plain language principles in developing its new website For Logan City Council, plain language certification is part of an overall effort to ensure its website is fully accessible and user focused By March 2020, the council...

Using email to get the job done

My working day is centred around email I use email for client conversations, project quotes, project delivery, and invoicing Even though I like to meet clients face-to-face whenever possible, it’s not uncommon for me to conduct entire projects by email Email makes work communication easier and faster Because of its asynchronicity, I no longer need to worry about telephone tag and missed calls I also spend a lot less time travelling to meetings I can read and respond to email when it suits...

The dangers of email

The dangers of email are familiar, yet under-appreciated Most of us live with those dangers every day and, for some of us, they’re achingly real: It’s easy to get the tone wrong, and come across as angry, judgemental, condescending or inconsiderate It’s easy to forget social niceties and send an unintended insult It’s easy to misunderstand or be misunderstood (meaning that future communication is based on misunderstanding) It’s easy to miss important points (usually from...

Using graphs to distort facts

Is this graph deliberately designed to distort the facts It’s part of a direct mail letter I received recently, attempting to persuade me that I’m more likely to be a satisfied borrower if my money comes from a small bank A quick look at the graph suggests that borrowers linked to the Big 4 banks are very unhappy Or are they Perhaps the letter’s message is built around the assumption that most readers glance at the graph, without thinking about it too closely At a first glance, the...

Softening the blow when you deliver bad news

All business owners need to deliver bad news You may need to give a reprimand, remind a staff member about policies and procedures, say ‘no’ to a prospective client, inform job applicants that they weren’t successful, or any number of potentially bad news messages Bad news is not an absolute: it’s interpreted differently by different people and at different times It’s the individual aspect of interpretation that’s most important: remember that the recipient is not inside your head...

Making messages that are understandable and noticeable

I’m fascinated by why it is that some people notice and understand messages and other people miss them Yesterday, a new customer walked into my shop and ordered a coffee and some breakfast After placing his order, he quietly offered me some feedback about our signage: ‘I’ve been working over the road for several weeks, and I’ve been wondering about what you do in here From your sign, I couldn’t work it out I didn’t know that I could just come in here and buy a coffee The sign...