Plain language still evokes questions from many clients. What is it all about? How does it work? What benefits are there? You can simply answer the questions. Or, you can ask for some time to do a training exercise to bridge the knowledge gap. This can be anything from a short team training exercise, a learning at lunch program, presentation to key leaders or an event keynote talk. Of course, you can run a workshop. Here are five plain language training options that focus on involving people and integrating it into your communications.

1. Drawing Personas
Audience awareness plays a huge part in plain language. You need a detailed picture of your audience for your team to create, commit to and use throughout the project. Personas involve drawing pictures or creating profiles of your audience using research on their lifestyle, cultural, social, professional and personal activities and values.  I find it a fun activity to open a training activity or for team building.
Usability.gov has an excellent description of how to do personas.

2. Develop plain language style guide
Integrating plain language guidelines into an existing style guide or creating a stand-alone guide is a great investment with a long shelf-life. Focus on jargon and simple words that can replace your organizations in-house jargon. Everyone appreciates a writing resource. They save time, create shared techniques, enhance peoples’ skills. Integrating it into an existing style guide increases its value and can be a great stepping stone to a learning event.
BC Government website shares content style guides.

3. Create a plain language checklist
Plain language checklists are available online. Most are very generic. Get your communications and plain language project team together to brainstorm a checklist specific to your task, audience or organization. This increases colleagues’ understanding of, skills for and commitment to plain language.
Plainlanguage.gov offers a checklist guide.

4. Carry out an audit
Without embarrassing or intimidating anyone, carry out a plain language audit. Gather a team and collect a variety of documents or information sources and measure against selected plain language guidelines. Share the findings and as a group come up with recommendations. You'll be coaching and training people throughout the whole process.
IABC (International Association of Business Communicators) shared this guide for audits.

5.  Enter a project for an award
Awards offer several opportunities for learning and committing to plain language. It helps see what the standards are in the profession. If you are recognized, you have motivation to carry on with your plans.
PLAIN (Plain Language Association InterNational) offers members ($60/year) opportunities to be recognized at its conferences. Other organizations offer annual awards.

Integrating plain language from the top down is your best way to achieve success.
PlainLanguageAcademy.com has core and advanced courses that cover the whole process.

Plain language, the process of ensuring information meets readers’ needs, is quickly becoming a top skill for freelance writers and editors. Our clients are faced with increased competition and the need to stand out. Plain language benefits for editors include clarity checklists for writing, ways to strengthen the connection between content and clients, and design guidelines for readability. Benefits for your clients include being more effective and efficient at communicating, solving their clients’ problems quickly, and improving staff skills. Words take time, and time is money. So, where do you begin?

It is important to understand what plain language is, where to fit it into your services, and how you can promote it to your clients. You may be confronted with the question “What is plain language?” Plain language, or clear communication, is the process of creating print information or online content that meets readers’ needs. We know that organizations struggle to get and keep a client’s attention in today’s competitive marketplace. Following the plain language process helps ensure clients can:

• quickly find the information they want,
• clearly understand the message, and
• easily take the actions needed.
  

Regardless of which guidelines you use, what the project focus is, or how much time is available, plain language professionals always put their audience first. As freelance editor Christa Bedwin states in her book, if our audience doesn’t understand what we’ve presented, then we didn’t communicate effectively. Read her Forum blog The Joys of Teaching Engineers to Write to see how plain language can effectively cross borders, professions, and topics. It knows no boundaries. It is a great way to enhance your skills, scope, and services.

Interested in enhancing your skills? Sign up for an online  PlainLanguageAcademy.com course.

Plain language professionals and marketers know the importance of connecting with audiences in messages they can relate to. But, how do you present those messages in the most meaningful way? You tell a story. The is the marketing focus of the future. It is here to stay. So, how do you adapt your style?

Echostories.com points to marketing leader Michael Brenner, Newscred, saying storytelling would be the future's number one way to connect with clients. Readers and writers are noting the need to speak directly to people, and connect with them about their interests. This is a cultural change away from delivering the "I want you to buy my goods now, because our stuff is great.' message. It has to be turned around to say: 'You love holidays. Where ever you go, good luggage can make the difference. Let us help you have a smooth, secure journey.' There isn't an 'I', 'my', 'our' in the second examples. Many may find this a hard habit to break. But, the checklist to successful story writing are straightforward.

The first rule is to let your clients lead the way: it's there story, not yours. That's a tough one. But, once you've done it a few times, and had their responses, you'll see its strengths. The second rule is that it that the focus should be on benefits —60% of what you write! Most importantly your story needs:
1. context—reader relevant angle
2. curiosity factor—gets their attention
3. characters—readers relate to
4. conversational style—talk with them, not at them
5. conflict and resolution—problem-solution; question-answer; before-after
6. conclusion that calls for action—set a challenge.

 Plain language is all about connecting with your audience. Writing in words they understand. In Business2Community blog on storytelling, 'crisp' is identified as a key writing trait. Is your writing crisp? clear? concise? These are all important factors in plain language ad connecting with readers. And, that's what this story is all about.

TED Talks on storytelling  - great stories about storytelling
PlainLanguageAcademy.com - online courses