Plain language doesn’t necessarily mean the same thing to all people in all walks of life because what may be plain language to one person may be completely baffling to another.
But we do owe it to the people around us to speak/write in an understandable manner so that our communications are effective.
I remember one of my earliest days teaching. Partway through the class a student stuck up his hand and then said to me “Dr. Ackerman, could you please use smaller words? No one in the class understands what you are saying most of the time.”
It was a total kick in he teeth. Here I was, a new instructor at a University College, with a class of fresh faced first year students, and I couldn’t reach them because I’d become mired in the lingo relevant to my academic life of the past many years. It was a good lesson and I’ve put a lot of effort in, since that uncomfortable day, to make sure that when I communicate I do so in a manner that is as suitable and accessible as possible for the people I want to listen.
I can relate to this on a different level these days; I know someone who does not seem able to speak or write in plain language and I spend a fair bit of effort translating…..
Plain language doesn’t mean patronizing or condescending, but it does mean that the message is conveyed in a manner that easily understandable so that confusion is minimized or avoided. And that saves everyone time and effort; both those conveying information and those receiving it.
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