A good TEDx talk about Plain Language

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Wikipedia page for Plain Language defines that:

 

 “Plain language is writing designed to ensure the reader understands as quickly, easily, and completely as possible. Plain language strives to be easy to read, understand, and use. It avoids verbose, convoluted language and jargon.”

 

There is a good 19-minute TEDxTalk from December 11, 2015 titled Demand to Understand: How Plain Language Makes Life Simpler | Deborah Bosley | TEDx Charlotte.

 

An example from it is at 13:30 where her Ophthalmologist (eye doctor) asked:

“How’s your vision when your eyes are in a superior position?”

 

She replied: “What do you mean by a superior position?”

 

And then her eye doctor said: “Oh, I just mean when you look up.”

 

Unfortunately, at 8:12 she mentions the bogus claims of an 8.25 second attention span for humans and nine seconds for goldfish. Back on January 21, 2016 I posted about Is the average attention span of a presentation coach almost as short as that of a house fly?

 

The cartoon was adapted from one at OpenClipArt.