Telecom New Zealand Limited — Sarah Burns
Winner: Best Plain English Technical Communicator 2012
Sarah Burns of Telecom with judge Emily Cotlier of TCANZ
Judges' comments
This portfolio puts the needs of the audience first with brevity and clarity, and strikes just the right note of personal connection and professionalism. The entire portfolio shows exemplary use of plain English.
Media statement
I am thrilled to be named the winner of the Best Plain English Technical Communicator category. It is a testament to the work my team and I do every day to make Telecom’s Help & Support content easier to use and understand.
Customers want to do more and more for themselves online these days, so it is important that the information we provide for them is simple and written in Plain English. We have a programme in place to continually improve our website content with this in mind. The effort we put into this is paying off through reduced calls and increased use of, and satisfaction with, our online answers.
I personally get a big kick out of turning content on its end, removing all the technical jargon and getting information to the point where it is easily read and understood by people of all ages and backgrounds.
Sarah Burns
Online Information Manager