Chloe’s background and interests make her the perfect fit for the role of patron. The Trust and the working group that organises the Awards are thrilled to have her on board.

Chloe herself is equally thrilled!

‘I’m honoured that you’ve invited me to be patron of the Plain English Awards. I can see the huge potential in the Plain English Awards, and commend you for what you’ve achieved in the past 14 years. The Awards’ goals of making plain English a natural part of everyday business and government communication is something I strongly support.

‘So often people don’t want to say that they can’t understand an official document or form. They think it’s because they lack some knowledge or skill — when mostly the problem lies in the writing they’re trying to untangle.

‘I’m going to embrace being patron of the Plain English Awards, because I’m passionate about championing people’s right to understand.’

Read more about Chloe Wright
Find out more about the WriteMark Plain English Awards Trust

The post Welcome to our new patron for the Plain English Awards appeared first on Plain English Awards.

Meet your new friend — the Brainstrain Award

The People’s Choice Awards offer members of the public an opportunity to celebrate excellent communications and to draw attention to bad ones — through the Brainstrain Award.

Winning the Brainstrain Award is like being offered a helping hand from a stranger. We say ‘stranger’ because all nominations are anonymous (and free).

The ‘helping hand’ is an opportunity for the winner to turn their communication around and make it better than ever. (And maybe even enter the Turnaround Award in the next round of full Plain English Awards in 2020.)

The Brainstrain winner gets some plain English love

The winning nomination gets the unenviable title of ‘People’s Choice — Worst Brainstrain Communication’. Sure, the word ‘Brainstrain’ doesn’t sound that great. But when you read what else winners receive, the title becomes a little less ominous.

Our beloved Brainstrain winner receives not only the famous Brainstrain rubbish bin filled with sour worms, but also some very constructive feedback and training in the form of:

• feedback on their communication (and how it could be improved) from our expert panel of international judges
• the latest StyleWriter plain English editing software — single-user licence (from Editor Software)
• 2 hours free consultancy from Write Limited to start transforming the document or webpage into plain English
• a place on any of Write Limited’s 1-day open workshops to use before 31 March 2020.

Do your bit for improving New Zealand’s communication. Submit your nominations for this year’s Brainstrain Award

The post Help can come from unexpected places appeared first on Plain English Awards.

We’re ready to roll with the Awards in 2019 — and we’ve got some exciting plans to tell you about.

We’ll alternate between the Plain English Awards and the People’s Choice Awards

As you might imagine, it takes a tonne of support and time and resources to bring together annual awards. We’re now in our 14th year, and we know that our momentum is strong and that people’s appetite for plain English continues to grow.

After lots of planning and consideration, we’ve decided to alternate between having the full Plain English Awards one year and the People’s Choice Awards the next. Having held the full Awards last year in 2018, this means we’re focusing on the People’s Choice only in 2019.

Some of you will remember that the idea of holding the People’s Choice Awards on their own is actually not a new one. You may recall we held them on their own in 2016, to coincide with the Clarity2016 conference here in Wellington.

Entries for this year’s People’s Choice Awards will open on Saturday, 1 June

Once entries are open, members of the public will be able to nominate an outstanding communication of their choice for the People’s Choice — Best Plain English Communication.

People will also be able to nominate a miserable communication for the notorious People’s Choice — Worst Brainstrain Communication.

Entries in the People’s Choice Awards are free and will be judged by a panel of plain language specialists from New Zealand and overseas.

We’re planning a mid-year Awards ceremony

Another result of our planning is that we’ve decided to aim for a mid-year ceremony. Traditionally we’ve celebrated our winners in November. However, after this year, entries will open near the end of the year and we’ll celebrate winners the following winter. Because who doesn’t love a good mid-winter celebration?!

What about next year’s full Plain English Awards?

Entries for the 2020 Plain English Awards will open in November this year. We’ll give you plenty of information before then, so keep your eye out for our newsletters and other publicity. Subscribe to our newsletter

Thanks for following and supporting the annual Plain English Awards. You all play a big part in making these Awards a valuable and exciting event.

The post We’re ready to roll with the 2019 Awards! appeared first on Plain English Awards.

Read on for part 1 of the inspiring speech given by Lynda Harris, Awards founder and CE of main sponsor Write Limited, at the 2018 Plain English Awards

Good evening! Let me start with a question: Why are you here? What prompted you to enter the annual Plain English Awards? What brought you along tonight?

I’m pretty sure that you’re here because you care. You care about the cause. You care about the ideal of plain language because you understand the cost, in both financial and human terms, of poorly conceived and written communications. You care about wasted effort, wasted time, and wasted money.

And you care about the enormous disadvantage that poor writing can bring, especially when the communications are about access to justice, or help of some kind, or are connected with legal, financial, or health services.

It was the very same notion of care that prompted us, 13 years ago, to set up these Awards.

It was because they cared that our foundation sponsors, Consumer, TechCommNZ, and Graphic Solutions came on board, as did our other wonderful sponsors who followed.

And it was also that notion of care that led us to establish the WriteMark Plain Language Standard, now cleverly rebranded by Craig Christensen to reflect that central idea of — you got it — care.

The thought I’d like to leave you with tonight is that, rather than thinking of care as simply an emotion connected with plain language, let’s recognise that care has tremendous value in its own right. Care can be a powerful catalyst for action if we follow through on what we feel prompted to do.

I came to this conclusion after preparing for a presentation at Clarity2018 in Montreal recently. The conference was attended by over 500 delegates from around the world, most of them lawyers. In my presentation I explored the idea that having a set of strong, people-based values baked into the firm’s mission might lead naturally to clearer, more accessible law.

I interviewed several B Corp law firms in Australia and Canada. B Corps are accredited organisations that believe business can be a force for good in the world.

What struck me was that in each conversation the people I interviewed used the word care — a lot. They also used another word: ‘believe’. As they spoke about what they believed in, their values, and precisely what they care about, became clear.

Here’s what three of those firms said.

Alexandra Doig from Atticus values care in communication

I loved my interview with Alexandra Doig, Managing Partner of Atticus Lawyers in Melbourne, Australia. With strong convictions about human rights, Alexandra chose to get B Corp accreditation several years ago. Her core philosophy, ‘We believe in treating people as they would want to be treated’, shone through our entire conversation.

It’s not often you hear a lawyer say, ‘We want everyone to feel comfortable all of the time. We know clients are already stressed with the issue. We aim to reduce that stress and make them feel happier … create a safe space … feel that we are their cheerleaders.’

I asked Alexandra the all-important question: Does your chief value of ‘care’ influence the way you write to your clients? The answer: ‘Yes. Telling people what they need to know, and doing all we can to help, means we need to write like a human. We need to communicate clearly and personally in ways that don’t alienate. We can’t give a client a convoluted document. We have to walk the talk and act on what we believe in.

‘We could write a ten-page document. We try to write a one-pager that clearly captures the most important info, and that the client can easily understand and be comfortable with. It’s a calculated risk — with benefits.

‘We want to write in a way that gives clients that lightbulb moment. If a client doesn’t walk away with a greater understanding of their position than they had when they arrived, we haven’t done our job properly.’

Bravo, Alexandra!

Joel Cranshaw from Clearpoint. believes in simple legal services

Joel’s strapline on his website says it all: ‘Legal services — reimagined simply.’ With a background as an experienced corporate lawyer, Joel said he’d always loved solving client problems. But as time went on, he felt less and less comfortable in a system based on chargeable units. ‘I felt there was no incentive to be efficient, and this often led to friction between client and lawyer.’

Prompted by strong values that focused on serving the client in the best way possible, Joel conceived Clearpoint’s unusual model, where they work on retainer for small to medium-sized firms in Melbourne and beyond. Achieving B Corp status was a natural fit.

Joel is a straight talker: ‘We want to work with compassionate people who value what we do and whose approach aligns with the concept of conscious capitalism. We don’t work with clients who don’t have our values.’

When asked if his values-based approach created clearer law, Joel’s answer was unequivocal: ‘Yes! I say that for two reasons. Our retainer-based fee model means that we must work efficiently — so we must be clear, concise, and to the point. And what we believe in, our philosophical approach to compassionately meeting clients’ needs, also means that we must communicate in ways they can readily understand.’

Applause once more from me!

Sophie Tremblay from Novalex runs a purpose-driven business

Sophie’s was a bold start-up story — similar to the Suspended Coffee movement (buy a coffee, pay for two — those who can’t afford to pay get coffee for free). Sophie and her business partner Ryan Hillier set up Novalex to have a self-sufficient business model, serving both corporate clients and others who need legal help. Neither an exclusively for-profit business, nor an exclusively philanthropic organisation, Novalex is a purpose-driven enterprise doing business for good. For every fee-paying hour, they give a pro-bono hour to eligible start-ups, non-profits, or individuals.

In Sophie’s words, ‘We believe everyone should have access to justice and top-notch legal advice. We hope that corporate clients will see using Novalex as a socially responsible choice. And we hope to give back in any way we can.’

Does this values-based model create clearer law? Sophie: ‘Absolutely! We know that even the smartest people aren’t necessarily familiar with legal terms and concepts. So a huge part of what we do is to make the law understandable. We use concrete examples and remove the abstract, along with many other techniques such as metaphor (“It’s like…”), and “This means…” We remove jargon and make important concepts stand out. We do what we need to do to be understood.’

Care intuitively leads to plain language

Hearing this long list of useful and well-founded plain language techniques, I asked Sophie if she had ever had any formal plain language training. She hadn’t. Nor had Alexandra or Joel. Yet instinctively, motivated by strong human values and a sense of care, all three ticked so many plain language boxes.

My hypothesis was looking good — all three firms proving that care really can be a shortcut to plain language. Admittedly my sample size was only three, but these inspiring leaders and others like them are truly showing the way to clearer law using an approach based on care.

Find out more about each of the three firms here:

Atticus

Clearpoint.

Novalex

Find out more about the WriteMark Plain Language Standard

The post Care — the shortcut to plain language (part 1) appeared first on Plain English Awards.

Judges for the 2018 Plain English Awards

The post Outstanding entries deserve outstanding judges appeared first on Plain English Awards.

Winners of the 2017 Plain English Awards

Congratulations to all our winners and finalists!

Utilities Disputes was the big winner at the 2017 Plain English Awards held at the Royal Society Te Apārangi in Wellington last night. Jerome Chapman, Deputy Commissioner, received the Best Organisation supreme award on behalf of the not-for-profit company. The judges noted:

Utilities Disputes has deliberately embedded plain English into the core of its organisation culture. And its perseverance and commitment have obviously paid off. They are truly plain English champions, and deserve recognition for their expertise and commitment to plain English philosophy.

Utilities Disputes won services worth $5,000 from New Zealand’s plain English specialists and founding sponsor, Write Limited.

Another champion recognised

The other award in the Champion category went to Steph Prince from NZ Transport Agency for Best Individual or Team.

Praise for best documents and websites

The award for the Best Plain English Document for the private sector went to Tower Insurance Limited for their House Insurance Premium Cover. Superu took out the award for the public sector with Making Sense of Evaluation — a handbook for the social sector.

The Best Plain English Website award went to the Department of Internal Affairs for the govt.nz website. This informative yet accessible website has won before.

Re-thinking a document or website to improve it

The Best Plain English Turnaround award went to Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management for its happens.nz website, replacing the Ministry’s getthru.govt.nz website.

Legal, Technical Communicator, and Annual Report categories

Parliamentary Counsel Office took out the Best Legal Document award for its Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017.

The Best Plain English Technical Communicator was Louisa Eades from Streamliners.

Z Energy won Best Plain English Annual Report for its 2017 report titled Solving what matters for a moving world. 2017 Annual Report.

Spotlight on the humble sentence

Jan Schrader at Stats NZ won the award for Best Sentence Transformation. Stats NZ has won in this category before, most recently in 2015.

People’s Choice — the best and the worst

Members of the public also submitted entries for two categories. The People’s Choice awards recognise the best and worst in government and corporate communications. Wellington City Council won the Best Communication award for its Our Wellington magazine. Of this entry the judges said:

What’s not to like? The document’s intention is clear and headings highlight the key messages. It has a vibrant design, clear statement headings, friendly language, and good variety. It successfully combines drier council initiatives with more exciting information on events. This good piece of work is probably well liked by Wellingtonians.

The People’s Choice Worst ‘Brainstrain’ award went to Inland Revenue. The Department received this could-do-better award for its direct debit conditions. The judges said, ‘This is supposedly an explanation of the conditions under which Inland Revenue has authority to accept direct debits — we think!’ The person who nominated the document said:

‘Inland Revenue say they have improved their website and made it easier to do business. But when you choose to pay by direct debit and two days later this nonsense is emailed to you — from a do not reply email so there is no way to ask for plain English — they could do better.’

Inland Revenue responded in good spirit with a humorous video.

The benefits keep coming after 12 years

After 12 years of Awards, we’re really starting to reap the benefits of business and government using clear communication to engage with their clients, consumers, and customers.

Chris Trudeau, US plain language specialist and professor of law, has said that New Zealand is ‘far ahead of the game’ in plain language. And this year, judges felt only one entry truly qualified as a ‘Brainstrain’. That’s got to be good news! And may this trend of constant improvement continue.

The 2017 Awards received entries from new entrants and previous award entrants. So it’s evident that those entrants recognise the benefits of New Zealanders receiving messages that are clear, concise, and consistent.

As Gregory Fortuin, chair of the WriteMark Plain English Awards Trust, explains, ‘Think of people caught in an emergency getting fast help from their insurer through an easy-to-complete claim form. Or patients experiencing less stress because they can easily understand their treatment. Or investors being able to understand their investment options from reading a clear investment statement. Communications written in plain English really can improve the lives of everyday Kiwis.’

Thanks to our 2017 sponsors

Major sponsors for this year’s Awards included WriteMark Limited, Write Limited, NZ Super Fund, Immigration New Zealand, printing.com, Wright Family Foundation, TechCommNZ, Graphic Solutions, and Consumer NZ.

Other sponsors, whose contributions to the Awards were also invaluable, were Kendons, Editor Software (United Kingdom), JUNO Investing Magazine, Community Comms Collective, Business NZ, Shelly Davies Writing & Training, Summer KiwiSaver Scheme, and Justly.

The post Winners announced in the 12th Plain English Awards appeared first on Plain English Awards.

As with our shortlists, entries are in no particular order. We haven’t published finalists in some categories so we don’t let the cat out of the bag.

‘Ooh — awesome’

Read some of the feedback we’ve had from judges about this year’s finalists below.

• ‘All three judges found this to be the very best group of entries we have seen in our many years judging these awards.’
• ‘We applaud the effort everyone has made to follow the principles of plain writing.’
• ‘You can be especially proud to win this category among these excellent entries!’
• ‘The friendly, light tone in this rewrite is a delight.’
• ‘When I finished the rewrite I said aloud “Ooh – awesome”.’
• ‘Overall this is an excellent effort.’

Winners will be announced on 23 November

We’ll announce our winners at the Awards ceremony in Wellington on 23 November. We’ll also publish the list of winners on our website later that evening.

The post The wait is over! Announcing our 2017 finalists appeared first on Plain English Awards.

Take a look at this year’s shortlists

Entries on the shortlists are in no particular order. If we haven’t published a shortlist, it means we can’t let the cat out of the bag just yet. In some categories we had fewer entries that met the judges’ high standard.

Look out for the list of finalists on 19 October.

The post Our judges have announced their shortlists! appeared first on Plain English Awards.

There’s no need to be shy about entering. Are you worried your content might not be plain enough? That’s a very good sign, because it shows that you care enough to be concerned. You care enough to want to do the best for your reader. You care about clear communication. It shows that you’re a perfectionist — and perfectionists like you are the closet champions we’re looking for.

If you truly care, enter your own or somebody else’s content in this year’s Plain English Awards. The Awards honour those who write plain English.

10 facts about New Zealand’s Plain English Awards

1. Entries close in 3 weeks, on 31 August 2017.
2. Most people don’t think they are good enough to enter — so seize the advantage!
3. No entry has ever been perfect — perfection is not possible.
4. The judges are impressed by effort, and delighted by every clear document.
5. The only documents publicly criticised are those in the Brainstrain Award.
6. You can enter a document, a website — or just a single sentence.
7. You can enter other people’s work in the People’s Choice category.
8. The premier prize is worth $5,000.
9. The Awards have been running for 12 years.
10. The awards are a not-for-profit event hosted by the WriteMark Plain English Awards Trust.

Enter the Awards here

The post Are you a closet champion? appeared first on Plain English Awards.

We talk to Lynda Harris, plain language advocate and the original inspiration behind the Plain English Awards. Lynda is Chief Executive at Write Limited, premier Awards sponsor. The Awards are organised by the WriteMark Plain English Awards Trust and are now in their twelfth year.

What types of organisations enter the Awards?

All types of organisations enter — large and small, public and private sector. Basically any New Zealand organisation that cares about the way they communicate is a good candidate! Government organisations tend to get behind the Awards really well, but the corporate sector is increasingly well represented too.

What kind of documents can you enter?

Virtually any kind of business document or webpage can be entered. And, it’s not just documents — people and organisations are honoured too.

See the Awards categories here

The fabulous Awards trophies created by sculptor Campbell Maud

You’d be hard pressed to find a plain legal document, wouldn’t you?

Actually, you’d be surprised! Many law firms, including top tier firms and smaller niche firms, are proactively marketing themselves with plain English as part of their brand. The Awards include a dedicated category for legal documents, so watch this space!

What about financial documents? Can they really be clear to the average person?

Many financial organisations — banks and insurance companies especially — enter the Awards with impressively clear documents. In fact, a major bank (ANZ) and several other financial organisations have done especially well in the general categories over the years. We also have a special category for annual reports.

The Awards have a strong focus on excellent communication, but don’t you also expose really bad writing?

Twelve of the thirteen awards honour positive effort and results. The thirteenth ‘trophy’ (really a stainless steel bin filled with sour lollies) goes to the winner of the dreaded ‘Brainstrain’ award. That award goes to the worst document or website nominated by a member of the public. For the unlucky organisation receiving that award, confusion wins!

The Brainstrain award has a very positive side though. Very often, being nominated for a Brainstrain award is a wake-up call for its owner. Many use the nomination as an opportunity to look hard at their communication style and make really positive changes.

The Brainstrain award, along with its counterpart ‘Best Communication’ award, is sponsored very appropriately by public watchdog Consumer NZ. Thanks to Consumer NZ’s support, you can dob in a bad document, or praise an easy-to-read one.

Read about the special People’s Choice categories here

Who’s behind the Awards?

The Awards are offered by the WriteMark Plain English Awards Trust, ably led by chair and well-known people’s advocate Gregory Fortuin. Premier sponsor Write Limited does the administration on behalf of the Trust.

Other valued sponsors provide much appreciated financial and in-kind support.

Do you think the Awards are making a difference?

Absolutely! The process leading to success in the Awards transforms some organisations and individuals into zealous advocates for plain English. We’re due to do another feedback survey early next year, but previous surveys have given us overwhelmingly positive comments from entrants and others. Here are a few of those comments:

The Awards are the premier benchmark for high standards and achievement in plain English. Success in the Awards shows we’re not only doing it [plain English], but doing it well and our expertise is being recognised.

Winning the award has raised the bar.

We were shocked by being a finalist for the Brainstrain Award. That spurred a huge project. I personally did lots of research on plain English and came up with our own web writing standards that exceed the e-government guidelines.

The Awards also act as a public watchdog, highlighting examples of poor writing that are barriers to good communication and people achieving what they want to do.

Who’s the clearest of them all?

The post Q & A with Awards founder Lynda Harris: Everything you need to know appeared first on Plain English Awards.