Reaching people - with "plain language"

FReDA wants to reach people. Our communication is aimed at a broad spectrum of different addressees: We address researchers and the scientific community, report to stakeholders from politics and associations, inform the interested public and media representatives. And, of course, we address our respondents, people from all walks of life. Our information is important - and we want to do everything we can to be understood.

That's why FReDA has worked intensively on "plain language". In an internal workshop, Uwe Roth, lecturer and expert in barrier-free communication, gave employees from the project important tips on how we can reach people from different target groups even better. The findings from this event, which took place from November 23 to 24, 2023 at GESIS - Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences in Mannheim, will influence our texts in the future.

There is already an "Easy Language" tab on the FReDA website. This contains texts that present the research project in a very brief and easy-to-understand way and explain the structure and content of the website. Easy language" is intended for texts aimed at people with learning difficulties or cognitive impairments. In contrast, "plain language" is intended for texts aimed at all reader groups.

Until now, the most important criteria for good German were correct spelling and grammar. "Plain language" places additional emphasis on comprehensibility and findability.

"Plain language" attempts to focus on the needs of the reader. Consequently, it should

• Relevant - readers get what they need
• Findable - they can easily find what they need
• Comprehensible - they can easily understand what they find
• Helpful - readers can easily use the information

One thought - one sentence

These guidelines can help when it comes to writing:

• a sentence should be no longer than 15 to 20 words
• the sentence structure should follow the classic "subject - predicate - object" pattern
• a subordinate clause is ok, but highly nested sentences make reading comprehension more difficult
• the present or simple past tense promotes comprehensibility
• do not use passive constructions, but formulate actively
• long terms (with more than 15 letters) should be broken up
• avoid nouns as far as possible
• no abbreviations
• Avoid redundancies
• Omit filler words
• Streamline texts and structure them clearly

Visualizations, graphics and examples can help to illustrate complex information and make it easier to understand. When formulating, the author should pay attention to the vocabulary of the target group and only use words that the target group is familiar with. This helps to avoid misunderstandings.

By using "simple language", information can be conveyed more clearly and effectively. It is then accessible to a broader target group and can also be understood by people with different levels of education. Technical language is unnecessarily complicated, says Uwe Roth. By using "plain language", experts put their technical language to the test and improve their communication. However, their specialist knowledge is not in question.