Number 74 2017 Improving customer relationships The Clarity Journal Published by Clarity, the international association promoting plain legal language 11th International Conference – Plain Language Association International (PLAIN) Graz, Austria, September 21–23, 2017 Hosted by Klarsprache.at-Gesellschaft für lesbare Texte/Clear language.at – Society for readable texts Our conference theme is “Improving Customer Relationships”. Our conference will help you share ideas, research, and know-how about the vital role of plain language in creating the trust, satisfaction and loyalty of customers in private businesses and public administration. Deadline for presentation submissions is March 15. Conference website: http://plainlanguagenetwork.org/plain-conferences/ EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Dedicated to designing Julie Clement Press Here 212 Brush Street better health information. Portland , Michigan 48875 Plain. Science. Fax: +1 517 334 5781 Jana Goldman [email protected] www.pressherejg.com [email protected] GUEST EDITORS communicatehealth.com Kath Straub Plain training & media services for scienti c organizations 413.582.0425 Sean Mahaffey CLARITY COUNTRY REPRESENTATIVES GUEST EDITOR — ISSUE 75 Barbra Kingsley for the Center for Argentina Marina Bozetti [email protected] Plain Language Australia Clive Wilson [email protected] If You’re In Plain Language, Belgium Olivier Beaujean [email protected] You Should Be In Our New Directory! DESIGN AND ILLUSTRATIONS Brazil Elisa Correa Santos Townsend [email protected] For law rms, Tony Dowers, Josiah Fisk, Canada Nicole Fernbach [email protected] legal departments, For $100 US, you can have a business card-sized Cori Stevens, Gabrielle LaMarr LeMee Chile Claudia Poblete Olmedo [email protected] and business groups ad in two issues of Clarity Journal. It’s a great way to More Carrot LLC Colombia German Jair Arenas [email protected] maintain professional visibility while helping support Finland Aino Piehl aino.piehl@kotus.fi Clarity Journal. PATRONS France Jenny Gracie [email protected] www.kimblewritingseminars.com The Hon Michael Kirby AC CMG For more information, contact Julie Clement at Gibraltar Muhammad Rahman [email protected] Sure re ways to improve your writing H E Judge Kenneth Keith [email protected]. Hong Kong Elizabeth Grindey [email protected] FOUNDER Republic of Ireland Mairtin MacAodha [email protected] John Walton Italy Christopher Williams [email protected] Japan Kyal Hill [email protected] OFFICE MEMBERS Luxembourg Bernard Lambeau [email protected] Eamonn Moran - President Malaysia Juprin Wong-Adamal [email protected] Joe Kimble - Treasurer Mexico Rosa Margarita Galán Vélez [email protected] Daphne Perry - Secretary The Netherlands Tialda Sikkema [email protected] Julie Clement - Journal editor New Zealand Lynda Harris [email protected] Peter Butt - Co-opted member Nigeria Dr. Tunde Opeibi [email protected] Annetta Cheek - Co-opted member Pakistan Mazhar Ilahi [email protected] Joh Kirby - Co-opted member Philippines Rachelle C. Ballesteros-Lintao [email protected] Portugal Miguel Martinho [email protected] Russia Ivan Begtin [email protected] Slovak Republic Ing. Ján Rendek [email protected] South Africa Candice Burt candice@simplifi ed.co.za Spain Cristina Carretero Gonzalez [email protected] Sweden Helena Englund Hjalmarsson [email protected] Switzerland Ingrid Slembek [email protected] UK Daphne Perry [email protected] USA and all other Prof Joseph Kimble [email protected] countries Zimbabwe Walter Zure [email protected] 2016 The Clarity Journal 74 59 From the President Simplifi ed Communications Plain Language This is my last message as President of Clarity. I am pleased to welcome Information Design Eamonn Moran as our new President from November 2016. It has been an Thought Leadership Julie Clement, J.D. 517.402.4271 enjoyable and interesting time and I have had the great fortune of working with [email protected] the other members of the committee to continue to develop Clarity as a leading, 978-498-4028 www.jclementcommunications.com [email protected] world-wide organisation. www.morecarrot.com Writing, editing, and clarifying legal language My fi rst focus was continuing the work of my predecessor Candice Burt with fi nalising Clarity’s constitution. Many people worked tirelessly to develop this document and I thank everyone involved. The other major achievement was the fi nalisation of a new Clarity brand and website. The website allows Deborah S. Bosley Owner and Principal us to better communicate with you, our members. There is still work to be done but it is a considerable 704.523.1282 of ce step forward for us as an organisation. Thanks to Josiah Fisk and his team at More Carrot for their pro 704.641.1334 cell bono assistance with this work. [email protected] www.theplainlanguagegroup.com While having a better looking website is one thing, it is another thing to keep it up-to-date. We have Looking for a Clarity resource? also employed Emma Mellon to assist with social media and web updates. This ensures that content is Check out our Better Information website updated regularly and available to members. Making Written Information Easy to Understand www.victorialawfoundation.org.au/better-information In the area of our journals all but the past two issues are available on the Clarity website. And for the fi rst time you can also search articles in the journal by author, title or keywords through a database developed by the Victoria Law Foundation website. The foundation, where I work, is committed to making information on plain language more widely available. Hopefully having the articles properly catalogue Advertising rates Clarity Journal is published twice a year. Contact Julie Clement, and optimized for SEO (or search engine optimization) will make it easier for the community at large to Copyright policy Authors retain copyright in their articles. Anyone wanting to reproduce an article in whole [email protected] or in part should fi rst obtain the author’s permission and should acknowledge Clarity as the source. discover our work. Submissions We encourage you to submit articles to be considered for publication in Clarity. Send Further, all these outward looking activities are one thing but there has also been some work on submissions directly to editor in chief Julie Clement. Please limit submissions to approximately 1,500 or 3,000 words. improving systems to make us more sustainable into the future. We now have a country representative kit that includes access to brochures, logos and other information that can be used by the country reps to promote Clarity in their respective countries. The role of country representative is critical in generating interest in Clarity and one that Eamonn Moran, our new President, is keen to see further developed. We have also set up better record management systems to allow for better transition between offi ce holders and from conference to conference. As I write this I have just returned from the 2016 conference in Wellington, New Zealand. The conference was co-hosted by WRITE Ltd. The conference was a great success. It was a pleasure to work with Lynda Harris and the team at WRITE Ltd – thank-you. As I sign off, good luck to Eamonn in his new role. As they stay in Star Wars - may the force be with you. Joh Kirby Clarity International [email protected] 58 The Clarity Journal 74 2016 Editor’s note The aim of Clarity — the organization — is “the Annual subscription We have an amazing collection of articles, all waiting to be published this use of good, clear language by the legal profes- Argentina ARS90 Malaysia MYR95 year, so look for several issues of The Clarity Journal in 2017. Meanwhile, sion.” With that in mind, what path would you like Australia AUD50 Mexico MXN250 here is the fi rst: a long-awaited collection of just a few papers from Clarity’s to see the journal take? Do you have an article Bangladesh BDT1500 New Zealand NZD70 2014 Antwerp conference. you would like published? Can you recommend Brazil BRL50 Nigeria NGN2500 Canada CAD40 Philippines PHP1500 We start with a paper I was privileged to work on with colleagues Kath authors or potential guest editors? No organi- Chile CLP30 Portugal EUR35 Straub, Annetta Cheek, and Sean Mahaffey. We know that non-lawyers zation or publication can survive for long if its Finland EUR35 Singapore SGD55 prefer plain language; our research now confi rms that lawyers appreciate members (or readers) are not gaining something of value. How can Clarity help you? Please con- Hong Kong Slovakia EUR700 it even more. tact editor-in-chief Julie Clement at clementj@ HKD275 South Africa ZAR100 We then examine some very specifi c contexts and the way plain—or obscure—language can make a cooley.edu with your suggestions and other India INR1000 Spain EUR35 difference. First, Martin Cutts examines the ways that something as seemingly simple as a parking comments. Israel NIS125 Sweden SEK280 sign can be used to trick the public. Tirza Cramwinckel then provides details about the Dutch Tax Italy EUR35 UK GBP20 How to join Clarity Authority’s refreshing work to bring clarity to communications. And Karin Hansson shares the benefi ts Complete the application Japan JPY4000 USA USD35 form and send it with your subscription to your Zimbabwe ZWD35 (and challenges) of using both plain