Nowadays, more and more people eyeball content, which is to glance very quickly, so you need to capture attention within seconds.

Plain has a bad rep.

It sounds dull. Without spark. Invisible.

But it isn’t.

Plain English is exactly what you need if you want to be quickly understood. It shouldn’t be gobbledygook. But neither should it sound insipid (or flat).

You want to lift spirits with your words, not deflate them.

Defining plain english

Noun clear and unambiguous language, without the use of technical or difficult terms.

For all B2B and B2C content, we believe simplicity is key.

But what about academic writing? You ask. Well, friends, academia is different – and to be honest we find it rather pompous!

And, if you want to learn how NOT to create content in Plain English, just listen to politicians or read an email from your accountant. Some industries are in the business of making things seem more complicated than they should.

Most content alienates about 99% of the world

Why?

17% of the world speaks English, and English literacy is likely to be less.

58.8% of websites are solely in English.

Content is usually written with industry or occupation-specific jargon or in an extravagant academic/political language

Most writers – ourselves included – write through the lens of the West for people who live a similar experience.

So, when your content is translated into relevant local languages, it may alienate your readers with its different cultural nuances.

Our lived experience affects both our writing and how it’s perceived.

To inspire a global audience with our words, we must address our unconscious bias head-first and include more global perspectives from the get-go.

That’s why we always prefer to work with native speakers when working on multilingual content projects that have a global audience. Every language has its cheeky ways.

We personally love using idioms, but there’s a time and place for them too – they can be completely lost on non-native English speakers.

How to create content in plain english

Write for your reader, not for yourself.

Put yourself in your reader’s shoes and ask the question: is this easy to understand?

Even with B2B and specific industry content, you need to get rid of all the industry jargon and acronyms. Spell things out that may seem obvious to you. Not everyone knows buzzwords.

If you feel you have to speak in jargon, provide space and time to explain the terms – such as by including a glossary.

Focus on the essentials

Think of all your content as an elevator pitch.

Get straight to the point with what you are offering.

Where possible, review your content a few days after you’ve written it, and chop out all the extra words and sentences. If you can use three words instead of ten, do it!

Simplicity is especially important when presenting data or if you are trying to convert a prospect. Don’t give everything away – too much information can be overwhelming.ng.

People like options, but limit them to a maximum of three. Share information so that it’s not all text and dense to read. Remember – content can include videos, quizzes, illustrations, and infographics, for example.

Write in an active voice
Speak to your reader, “you” and, “we”, so that the subject is performing the action. It’s also much clearer and straightforward to read.

This helps grab your reader’s attention and keeps them interested and focused.

Avoid third person – it should never be ‘one can do this’.

Where possible, personalise your content, so that you have your direct audience’s name sprinkled into it (particularly when crafting your customer content journey).

Don’t go off topic…
…Unless you really and truly consciously intend to (and if that’s the case, you might want to take a good, long look at yourself.)

Not sticking to the topic will ensure you lose people along the way.

It’s incredibly irritating.

Have you ever looked up an online recipe, but before you can even get to the fundamentals of the ingredients list and method, you have to scroll and wade through lines and lines of text about the recipe creator’s life story? It’s annoying, isn’t it?

Give people what they are looking for.

Would you like help simplifying your content? Get in touch with us today!