Plain language – what is it really? It sounds so boring! ‘Kill the magic, the creativity, the poetry.’ Don’t shine. Don’t sparkle.  

If that was true, I wouldn’t work in plain language. It wouldn’t have captivated me for 15 years.  

Find out what it ACTUALLY is and why writing in plain language is the ultimate act of imagination! 

Are you in charge of others at work? Do you want them to be happier, more effective employees? Find out how plain language can help with that. 

This client has offices in 5 countries. They have 200 graduates a year to train – and those grads work in 75 different disciplines.

The Learning and Development team has a tiny window of time to train the grads, who are expected to spend 95% of their time on billable work.

Here’s how Colleen Trolove is helping the grads move from academic to professional writing in that tiny window.

The board chair needed things to change. They asked for techniques to help people realise that boards needed a different level of information from senior executives – ‘You can’t put a report to the senior leadership team into the board template and expect it to work’.

They asked for help getting people to take pride in their board reports. They asked me to show people what a modern, concise writing style looks like. The goals was to hit the right level of formality and not rack up the word count.

Moving from employee to self-employed – what’s it like? Here’s Colleen’s experience, along with 3 hard-earned lessons for anyone thinking of making the same transition. 

CrossFit is a hard habit, but an amazing community and great trainers have made it easier for me. Writing well is a hard habit too, but our amazing community and great training can make it way easier for you. 

Separating thinking from writing isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s a MUST have. It’s the biggest time saver there is. Period. 

Let’s get real, Disney: a streaming service isn’t a resort. Convoluted writing shouldn’t protect Goliath from David. 

People don’t want to read writing that’s long, intimidating, vague, hides main points, and isn’t relevant to them. They want short, approachable, clear writing with the bottom line up front and a clear explanation of why it’s relevant.

The Plain Language Act has been passed into law and plain language awards given to WorkSafe and Energy Collective!

Struggling to find the right words? Here are a few quick tips to help you get unstuck and jumpstart your writing process. Whether you’re battling writer’s block or just need a little inspiration, these strategies will help you overcome obstacles and get your creative juices flowing again.

Build some reminders into your systems.

Forget all the advice about how to write GOOD! Let’s write a shitty document! (in 7 easy steps…)

In the last installment, we talked about vulnerability - what it is and what it definitely is NOT. Now, we’re looking at authenticity, swearing, and how both can play a part in fit-for-purpose business communication to give your customers the best possible service.

Last week we talked about increasing empathy in the context of customer communications and I dropped the super fun bombshell that empathy requires vulnerability.

BUT WHY IS EVERYONE TALKING ABOUT VULNERABILITY???