Lucid Lingo
Communicating... in plain English
Lucid Lingo
Posted on September 26, 11 by Gary Chow | No Comments » | Tags: copywriting, plain English writing
One of the world’s most famous and successful investors is an advocate of plain English. His name: Warren Buffett.
I wasn’t aware of this until I came across a preface he wrote to a document called A Plain English Handbook: How to create clear SEC documents.
In his preface the ‘Sage from Omaha’ covered some of the [...]
Posted on May 29, 11 by Gary Chow | No Comments »
One of the things you can rely on to lighten up your day is to listen to the news conferences of politicians. What they do with the English language is a marvel.
At home, we have our very own Kevin Rudd doing his best to broaden our appreciation of jargon and gobbledygook – a true champion [...]
Posted on May 20, 11 by Gary Chow | No Comments » | Tags: art, Plain English, writing
George Costanza to Jerry Seinfeld:
“ I don’t get art. It always has to be explained to me and then I have to have someone explain the explanation…”
I empathise with George. I feel the same when I go to an art gallery and read the plaque next to the artwork. What are they going on about? [...]
Posted on May 18, 11 by Gary Chow | No Comments » | Tags: avoiding gobbledygook, buzzwords, plain English writing
Ever sit in a meeting and walk out an hour later and not have the faintest what was said?
If you have, it’s because what you heard wasn’t plain English but more likely corporate gobbledygook, a unique language composed of buzzwords, clichés and jargon.
It’s not just the spoken word, of course, gobbledygook is prevalent in most [...]
Posted on May 17, 11 by Gary Chow | No Comments » | Tags: copywriting, financial services documents, plain English writing
I’ve written copy for numerous product disclosure documents for financial service firms. They aren’t the most exciting things to write about, but if you plan to sell financial services they are a must-have. No PDS, no sale.
I am aware that some see a PDS as a compliance matter; a task best left to the compliance [...]
Posted on April 11, 11 by Gary Chow | No Comments » | Tags: active writing, conversational tone, direct copywriting, personal copywriting
I used to edit and proofread technical reports written by environmental scientists. What struck me was how formal and passive the writing was.
Their reports were full of passive sentence constructions such as ‘the writer believes’ or ‘it is thought’. And instead of referring to the reader as ‘you’ they’d refer to them using their full [...]
Posted on May 28, 10 by Gary Chow | No Comments » | Tags: avoiding gobbledygook, copywriting plain english, plain English writing
Memo to computer store staff: speak to customers in plain English and drop the jargons and buzzwords. If you want to serve and help, answer questions and explain your products in lucid, precise language. Listen to the questions and answer directly, and use words people can understand without having to refer to a jargon dictionary. [...]
Posted on April 15, 10 by Gary Chow | 1 Comment » | Tags: avoiding gobbledygook, buzzwords, joke, kevin rudd, Plain English
Writers and speakers of plain English use straightforward expressions and words their audience understand. They get straight to the point, avoiding inflated vocabulary, long-winded sentences, buzzwords and jargon. They concentrate on delivering the message rather than trying to impress.
On the other hand, people who speak and write in gobbledegook do the opposite. They distract and [...]
Posted on April 7, 10 by Gary Chow | 1 Comment » | Tags: avoiding gobbledygook, buzzwords, cliche, copywriting, don watson, Plain English, using plain words
I can’t stand jargon, buzzwords, clichés, corporatespeak and other forms of gobbledygook. It drives me spare. Every time I hear one – especially a newly invented one – I feel like doing what the Peter Finch character did in the film, Network. Like him I want to thrash open the window and shout out loud: [...]
Posted on March 30, 10 by Gary Chow | No Comments » | Tags: buzzwords, cliche, plain English writing, speaking in lucid english, straightforward expressions
A couple of month’s ago I wrote about how well President Barack Obama spoke and how we can learn from him.
Obama gets his message across because he speaks in plain English. He uses words most people can readily understand. He also uses words that engage his audience, words that are meaningful. He knows his goal [...]
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