Plain language – it doesn’t have to be boring

There are some writers in the world who don’t merely love words, they have acquired logolepsy (which also means a love of words – but this is a lofty kind of love). These people aren’t simply signed up to word-of-the-day emails – but to something like this http://highvocabulary.wordsof.org/, so that they can learn words like ‘gormless’, ‘minatory’ or ‘oleaginous’.

These lexiphanes (people who use really long words – or rather, eschew monosyllabic iterations) also tend to memorise a few showy Latin phrases to pepper into their writing. ‘Quidquid Latine dictum sit altum videtur’ (everything sounds more impressive when said in Latin), after all.

But enough of that – the point I’m getting at is this: If you’re trying to impress an academic at an intellectual conference, then sure, use your verbose language. But if your main aim is to write copy that communicates with the public – you should aim to be understood by as many people as possible.

That’s where plain language comes in.

Now don’t get the wrong idea – plain language doesn’t all mean simplistic, ‘dumbed-down’ or boring language. It simply means language that is straightforward, clear and precise – language that has had all the unnecessarily complicated words chopped out. It can still be vibrant and exciting – using strong, visual words – without being complicated.

As copywriters, we should be creating content that connects people to the information they want, right? So it makes sense that we should make it easy for people to understand.

‘The key to making things understandable is to understand what it’s like not to understand,’  said Richard Saul Wurman, an American architect, graphic designer and pioneer in the practice of making information easily understandable – a very wise man.

So what is the best way to make your content easy to understand? It’s simple – use everyday words that your audience can understand the first time they read it.

Think of long, complex words as hurdles in the race to understanding. Using simpler words doesn’t mean you’re insulting your readers’ intelligence – it just emphasises clarity above formality.

In conclusion, the only apodictic method for avoiding misapprehensions of Brobdingnagian proportions is appropriating plain language!

Plain language is the way forward, because:

Also In Vino Veritas, Carpe Diem and all of those good things.