Welcome back!
I’ve been meaning to update this blog for a while, but life got in the way.
Several months ago, I was unexpectedly plunged into the world of hospitals and urgent investigations. Although things are mercifully less urgent now I have a diagnosis, it has been a scary and stressful time to say the least.
As the NHS letters arrived on my laptop with a distinctive and sickening ‘ping’ and I struggled to decipher them, I started to muse on the importance of accessible language, particularly in professions where complex terms abound.
And so, here are a few thoughts for writing (and speaking) in a way that helps other people, rather than baffling and bewildering them.
Use clear language
Brilliant organisations like People First (Self Advocacy) specialise in ‘easy read’ translations of documents, but making sure things are easy to read and understand should be everyone’s responsibility. Always use clear and plain language where you can and avoid jargon, particularly if you need to communicate something that is new or unfamiliar to your listener or reader.
This year, I have learned new words like ‘nulliparous’ and about conditions like ‘adenomyosis’. I was pleased to discover that my scans didn’t pick up ‘myometrial abnormality’, but I confess I didn’t know what myometrial meant until I looked it up. When reading NHS letters and during appointments, I often felt overwhelmed as terms whizzed past me. Remember that terms or phrases you use every day might be obvious to you, but alien to your reader or listener.
Explain acronyms and initialisms
An acronym is an abbreviation formed from the initial letters of other words, to make a word (eg. NATO). An initialism is where the abbreviation is spoken out loud letter by letter. In most organisations, acronyms and initialism are rife. That isn’t necessarily a problem if everyone knows what they stand for. But if you are writing for, or speaking to an audience outside your organisation, they should always be explained in full.
If you work in a hospital, then maybe you know that MCDU stands for Medical Case Day Unit. But if you don’t know what it stands for, then they are just letters of the alphabet. Unless acronyms and initialisms are explained it can feel as baffling to the listener as trying to navigate your way down long corridors desperately trying to find the unit in question.
Be inclusive and don’t make assumptions
“How many children do you have?” asked my consultant gynaecologist. It seems to be a fairly standard question. Maybe I’m being picky here, but there are several assumptions already built into this question. For example, I don’t have children. So perhaps a better opening question would be “do you have children?” and then “how many?” as a follow up.
This isn’t a personal criticism of the consultant. We make assumptions all the time and we are all immersed in our own particular cultures. But it’s also worth taking some time to think about how what might be obvious and everyday to us, might need explaining or rephrasing when we are writing or speaking to others.
For more advice and information you could use The Guardian Style Guide when thinking about inclusive and accessible language.
And if you would like more personalised support to produce easy read and accessible documents for your organisations, please do get in touch!
