Celebrating plain language out loud

For International Plain Language Day this year, we had so much fun running a before and after competition

This year's theme was #clearresults. So we invited the world to celebrate the value of plain, easy to read language.

Our goal? To show the magic results of plain language success!

Kate from the Plain Language Academy in Canada jumped onboard and generously donated even more prizes to be won.

You played. We judged. And...

Here are the results!

(Read on or watch the announcement HERE on Facebook)

1st Place - Jen Olson from Wellington, NZ

Taken from actual legal evidence presented at a hearing. I work with a lot of geotech engineers these days and I can tell you the best ones will LOVE this!

2nd Place - The Regulatory Team at Worksafe NZ, Wellington NZ

Sent in by Esther on behalf of the team, we love the focus on readers' needs: headings, bullets, white space. Go you good things!

3rd equal - Gemma from Stratford Regional Council, NZ

A great example that demonstrates how we have to just get rid of the gobbledygook, write more like the way we speak, and still be "official." We also LOVED that you said next to your rewrite: "what I would have preferred (though still a shitty notice")!

3rd equal: Louise and the team at Ministry of Social Development, NZ

So many good things. We're hugely impressed with the work MSD is doing to make communications more emphatic, fit for purpose, and reader-focused. By the way, MSD's "Better letter project" won the overall prize at last year's Plain English Awards.

Special mentions

All of these lovely people played along, made their amazing submissions, jumped on the plain language waka (canoe) and did swimmingly. (How's that for a mixed metaphor?)

We're so grateful we've sent every one of them a gratitude journal or badass coffee keep cup as a thank you.

Rock on, plain language family!

Mel Chew - Learning Works, Hamilton NZ

Katie Haggath from Snappy Communication, Christchurch NZ

Carey Griffiths - Worksafe NZ, Wellington NZ

Elizabeth de Stadler, South Africa

LOVE IT! Simple. Clear. Humour. Memorable. Usable. If you weren't a professional, my friend, you'd have been the winner! But, is in the business! @HEYPLAINJANE and @novcon

Piers Ford - Vector, Auckland NZ

Lyndele von Schill, Virginia, USA

We know who to call when we're ready for a rewrite of the Declaration of Independence.

Thanks so much - let's keep fighting the good fight and winning people over with joy, badassery, and above all: CLARITY!

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Looking forward to hearing your thoughts below!

Who am I? I am a Rockstar Writer-Trainer | Joyful Badass |Speaker |Brand Goddess

I write, I train, I speak, I remove cultural barriers, I do give-less-f*cks brands, but most of all I CONNECT. That's what all the things are about. Connecting with humans. Meaningfully. Authentically. Otherwise, what's the point?

You can connect with me here, or here, or here!

And since we’re friends and you liked reading this, I wrote a book too… Just sayn.?