The worst excuses I’ve heard on why *plain language* doesn’t matter and how to respond to them.
I know everyone is talking about AI, but plain language is a sexy topic, too, I promise.
Every day, I tell my clients that plain language has to be the foundation of all of their copy choices, or they are building a house on faulty ground. I have heard so many excuses in the past ten years for why it doesn’t matter, and I am here to tell you that it still does.
Have you heard any of these? Or is this you?
“Our executives want to sound impressive”
This is a great time to do a side-by-side comparison of the copy in question and then the simplified text. Ask them to position themselves as just a typical human, and not a CEO - and ask which would they choose. It’s really hot out today in Upstate New York so I will give you a comparison on selling air conditioners.
Complex copy that your execs love:
Our unit features a dual inverter compressor that utilizes advanced variable-speed technology to maximize energy efficiency and minimize acoustic output.
Plain language that consumers understand:
Our air conditioner runs quietly and uses less energy thanks to our modern cooling technology.
Which would you choose?
”Our audience has a Master’s Degree”
Sometimes it’s not about your audience, as much as it is about the time they have to read your content. Yes, your audience might have a Master’s Degree but they also have a full-time job, two kids, a Starbucks habit, and have to walk their dog twice a day. Do you want to lose your users because they are not sitting down in a quiet place with ten undivided minutes to read your article? They have two minutes, and then they are off to baseball practice.
”We don’t have time to edit and it’s a quick turnaround”
While this is the most valid reason I can think of not to do your plain language review, it’s also the easiest to combat. You will spend less time on the back end of the project if you do the reading-level work upfront. If you’re doing translations, the plain language approach saves you time on phrases that won’t translate in other languages. You will have to go back and edit anyway if your content needs to work for translations. Also, it could save you a reprint of a brochure if later on down the line you determine that this material doesn’t match your other simplified content.
”It’s already approved by the team and we don’t want to do another round”
Then sadly that’s your fault and you managed this project poorly and created expectations around copy that won’t be as effective. The first thing you should do when writing copy is do it right the first time. Sorry - real juice!
