The Plain Game

Workplace plain language training

Online│Scalable│Effective│Fun

Plain language delivers 30 to 300% ROI

Investing in plain language is very profitable. A new impact measurement shows that the public sector will most likely see a return of 30 to 300% by investing in plain language work. See this short article about the report "Benefits of Plain Language in Norwegian Municipalities" by Menon Economics.

Government
Tax and finance
Healthcare
Legal
Education and research

Government and public service

Skedsmo Municipality, Norway 1

The change

The municipality removed unnecessary letters and forms and improved the written information it provided to residents.

The impact

Wait times for residents needing assisted-living units fell from 3–6 months to 5 weeks.

Norwegian Gaming and Foundation Authority 1

The change
The authority reviewed and rewrote its website using plain language principles.

The impact

Telephone enquiries fell by 30%, as people were able to find and understand the information they needed online.

Norwegian Tax Administration  1 

The change 

The tax authority looked at why people were incorrectly claiming a commuting deduction. It focused on the needs of readers and created a plain-language online guide and calculators to help people understand their eligibility.

The impact

Erroneous claims fell by 40%, with appeals falling by a similar proportion.

Norwegian Public Roads Administration 1

The change

The administration rewrote an EU inspection letter to make it clearer and easier for people to understand what they needed to do.

The impact 

Readers spent 40% less time understanding what was required of them, and enquiries fell by 40%.

Tønsberg Municipality, Norway 2

The change 

The municipality rewrote invoices sent to people receiving health and care services. 

The impact

The clearer invoices resulted in around 550 fewer enquiries each year, saving an estimated NOK 35,000 in staff time annually.

Bergen Municipality, Norway 2

The change 

The municipality rewrote its electronic application form for housing benefit to make it easier for residents to complete correctly.

The impact

Requests for missing information fell by an estimated 194 a year, saving around NOK 12,000 in staff time annually. Applicants also spent less time completing the form and received decisions more quickly. 

Sources
1. Kimble, Joseph (2008). Writing for Dollars, Writing to Please: The Case for Plain Language in Business, Government, and Law. 

2. Menon Economics (2022). Benefits of Clear Language in Norwegian Municipalities.

Tax and finance

U.S. payday-loan research 1

The change 

Researchers tested clearer ways of explaining the cost of payday loans, including how much interest borrowers would pay.

The impact

Clearer cost information led to lower borrowing amounts. Applied to total U.S. payday borrowing in 2007, the researchers estimated this could have represented an $8.5 billion reduction in borrowing.

Small Claims National Office, Portugal 1

The change 

The office redesigned its debt-collection letters using plain language. The letters are sent more than 200,000 times a year.

The impact 

Voluntary debt payments increased by 68%. Requests for legal aid increased by 176%, while granted requests increased by 142%.

Sources
1. Kimble, Joseph (2008). Writing for Dollars, Writing to Please: The Case for Plain Language in Business, Government, and Law. 


Healthcare

National Adult Literacy Agency, Ireland 1

The change

The National Adult Literacy Agency worked with health agencies to redesign appointment and waiting-list letters using plain language.

The impact 

Did-not-attend rates were cut in half. The waiting-list redesign also reduced the did-not-respond rate by 5%, meaning around 5,000 more patients responded. 

Sources
1. Kimble, Joseph (2008). Writing for Dollars, Writing to Please: The Case for Plain Language in Business, Government, and Law.

Legal

U.S. jury instructions research 1 

The change 

Researchers compared traditional jury instructions with revised instructions written in plain language.

The impact

Among jurors who received no instructions, 40% reached an incorrect verdict. With revised instructions, this fell to 13%.

Sources
1. Kimble, Joseph (2008). Writing for Dollars, Writing to Please: The Case for Plain Language in Business, Government, and Law.

Education and research

Forensic Psychiatry Institute & McMaster University, Canada 1

The change 

The organisations turned hour-long lectures about mental health and law into 3–4 minute plain-language summaries explaining the practical and policy implications of the research.

The impact 

The 32 summary pages generated 21,433 pageviews in their first year. LinkedIn posts promoting the summaries generated 30,985 impressions and 1,996 engagements. 

Sources
1. International Plain Language Federation. Plain language: Case studies and implementation examples. 

Meet The Plain Game

Workplace plain language training

Online | Scalable | Effective | Fun
Start free trialTry for freeView pricing

Meet The Plain Game

Workplace plain language training

Online | Scalable | Effective | Fun
Start free trialTry for freeView pricing

Follow the story

Navigate real-world workplace writing challenges.

Apply your learning

Make decisions, answer questions and practise writing in plain language.

Follow the story

Navigate real-world workplace writing challenges.

Apply your learning

Make decisions, answer questions and practise writing in plain language.

Four modules, one goal. Clear writing.

  1. 1
    Audience and purpose
  2. 2
    The writing process
  3. 3
    Write for your readers
  4. 4
    Connect with your reader
Full course structure

More than a game

  1. Developed by an international team of plain language and education experts.
  2. Based on Christopher Balmford’s renowned course, delivered to tens of thousands of people worldwide.
  3. Aligned with the International Organization for Standardization’s (ISO) plain language standard.

Give your team a better way to write.

Start free trialTry for freeView pricing
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