A government initiative we can all get behind: Plain Talk

PRI's Marketplace is one of my favorite radio programs. This morning I heard this story on their Marketplace Takeout podcast about the push for plain talk in Washington State. My favorite bit was this:

The plain talk push in Washington state started last year when Governor Chris Gregoire issued an executive order. It requires all state agencies to write in clear language, short sentences and active voice.

Just bureaucratic nonsense? No way. Just the rewriting of one letter about the use tax in Washington brought in $800,000 more in use taxes.


Today, more than half the states have some sort of plain talk regulation, and even the federal government has a Plain Talk Web site (plainlanguage.gov, which, understandably enough, is hosted by the FAA who has a vested interest in clear communication for air safety). The only question is that with the government providing that clear language has a measurable return on investment, when is private enterprise going to get on board as well?

Technorati Tags: Communication, Communications, Plain Talk, Washington