Have you made yourself clear? Why plain language matters to your business with guest Erin Casey

Continuing with this season’s theme, today I’m bringing you another guest to share their tips and best practices around accessibility and inclusion, specifically looking at why plain language matters. 

Erin Casey is a professional communicator, writer, and editor based in Kjipuktuk/Halifax, Nova Scotia, whose areas of expertise and interest is in inclusion and belonging, higher education, disability, health, entrepreneurship, and business — with an emphasis on equity. She believes we’re all entitled to accessible and clear communication so we can connect with the people, opportunities, services, and information we need. Erin knows a little bit about a million things, making her the perfect party guest.

In today’s episode, you’ll discover:

• The way that Erin’s entrepreneurial journey began and what led to their focus on plain language [6:23]
  
  
• A look at how plain language got started in the 1990’s and is defined today [10:51]
  
  
• Why it’s important to realize the true role that the information you provide plays for everyone, and the positive impact that plain language brings [17:14]
  
  
• Examples of bad language to ue and how it could be rewritten either on signs or websites [23:54]
  
  
• The reasons for considering plain language sooner rather than later, plus some wins Erin’s clients have experienced in this area [36:21]
  
  
• What to be of aware of in terms of plain language and social media [43:13]
  
  

Have you seen bad examples of language being used, on signs or websites? You can send them to Erin on LinkedIn and connect for a quick chat. We thank you for listening, and as always, I want to thank our special guest for sharing their expertise and insights. I’ll see you back here next week with a brand-new episode!

Mentioned in this Episode

Erin’s LinkedIn

Protect Your Business: Understanding Web Accessibility and Legal Risks in Canada with Guest Dominique Dunlop 

Plain Language: Learn More

This is a short list of resources. Explore each website for links to other resources, including more tools for specific needs and specific communities.

More about plain language

Plain language, accessibility, and inclusive communications. This resource from the Government of Canada’s Privy Council Office gives an overview of plain language and why we should use it.

Inclusive writing – Guidelines and resources. This Government of Canada resource covers gender-inclusive writing in English, and offers other resources on the topic.

International Plain Language Federation. Promotes the benefits of plain language and improves professional practice.

PLAIN Canada. Website for the national plain language movement.

Writing resources—Plain language. This Government of Canada resource includes links to practical tools.

Workplace Literacy. Information from ABC Life Literacy Canada about adult literacy levels.

Style guides and checklists

Canada.ca Content Style Guide. This excellent resource covers rules for creating web content that can be easily found, understood and used. These guidelines are useful for all written resources.

Research Impact Canada Plain Language Writing Checklist. This checklist from Research Impact Canada is short and easy to use for beginners.

Guide on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Terminology. This Government of Canada resource is a searchable glossary of terms to help you write without bias.

Plain Language: Clear and Simple. This handbook is a useful resource for anyone interested in producing writing that is more accessible, more exact, and clearer to both experts and nonexperts. 

Plain language word list. Lists simple words you can use instead of more complicated ones.

Readability and accessibility tools

Flesch Reading Ease and the Flesch Kincaid Grade Level. Flesch readability scores are the most popular and are the most widely tested and used. 

• Flesch Reading Ease scores a text between 1 and 100, with 100 being the highest readability score. Scoring between 70 to 80 is equivalent to school grade level 8. This means text should be fairly easy for the average adult to read.
• The Flesch Kincaid Grade Level assesses the approximate grade level of a text. 

Hemingway Editor App. This online app highlights problem areas and helps make your writing clearer. You can paste in text or compose in the app.

Microsoft Word has a readability tool that can be found under the Review tab > Spelling & Grammar. You may have to click on Word > Preferences > Spelling and Grammar to enable the readability function. The tool gives:

• Flesch Reading Ease and Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level scores
• average sentences per paragraph and words per sentence
• percentage of passive sentences

Microsoft Word has a Check Accessibility tool under Review > Spelling & Grammar that checks documents for features like alt text, image descriptions, contrast, and more.

Legislation

Nova Scotia Accessibility Act Compliance Overview. The Accessibility Act is provincial law. Businesses and organizations will need to comply with new regulations under the Accessibility Act.

Summary of the Accessible Canada Act. This summary provides an overview of key provisions of the Accessible Canada Act. It’s also a good example of how to summarize legislation.

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Listen to Get It In Writing on Apple, Spotify or wherever you catch your favorite podcasts!

For more please visit my website at  Legal Mybiz.ca. You can connect with Corinne on Instagram at www.instagram.com/legalguidecorinne/ or by email, [email protected]. 

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Key Quotes:

“It was true then and it’s still true today, that just under half of the Canadian population does not have adequate literacy skills to complete basic tasks.” [11:23] 

“One thing I really like to impress on people is that one of the easiest things you can do to make your business more accessible is [to] implement plain language.” [16:10] 

“Your information should be of service to them. It’s not about you showing what you know, it’s about them getting what they need so that they can make a good decision, access a service, and they can make their life better.” [21:14] 

“I generally tell people to aim for a junior high reading level in their text, and sometimes it might be lower. Of course there are going to be times when you don’t have to worry about plain language, but when it’s publicly-facing communication, plain language is a really good idea.” [33:26] 

“It’s inclusive, it’s accessible, it’s the right thing to do, but there are some head reasons too. Using plain language actually saves you time and money in the end.” [36:03]