We were lucky enough to have another guest speaker in my UX class the other day. Deanna Lorianni came in to talk to us about something I didn’t even realize was a thing: plain language. Plain language is basically rewriting things to make them readable and, more importantly, understandable, to the viewer. For instance, have you ever read (or tried to read) certain instructions on how to set something up, or build something, what have you, and it just. Did. Not. Make. Sense?
I've totally been there. Luckily for us, that’s where plain language comes into play. Taking “explain it like I’m five” to a whole new level.
What Deanna taught us that I thought was kind of neat was that when working with plain language, it’s not just about the words. It’s also about the way the words flow together, how dense, or easily-flowing the words look on the page. Bullet points? Those are your friend. Long, wordy paragraphs? Stay away from those. It’s a fairly simple concept with a lot of complex rules intertwined in there.
Here is the official plain language website of the United States that more or less explains what plain language is, how to apply it, examples of it, and even resources for training yourself to become a master at plain language.
https://www.plainlanguage.gov/guidelines/