Communicating in Plain English

Plain English presents information in a way that helps others to understand the message the first time they read or hear it. Plain English can be used in a range of workplace documents including emails, reports, policies, workplace procedures, file notes, and forms.

It allows people to:

• Easily find what they need
• Understand what they find
• Use the information

Workers can more easily follow workplace policies and procedures when they are written in Plain English.

The Workplace Literacy Project in Tasmania promotes the use of Plain English to disability service providers in two ways.

1. We coordinate half-day Plain English workshops. During these attendees can learn techniques to simplify the way they communicate.
2. An Adult Literacy Skills Officer can provide advice to the organisation about the suitability of their workplace documents. They can also, where available, share well written policies and procedures that services can use to base theirs on.

The Disability Workplace Literacy Project is funded by 26TEN, Tasmanian Government.

Communicate Clearly: A Guide to Plain English