Proof that people really do prefer reading plainer language
Six years ago Law Professor Chris Trudeau asked hundreds of people about their thoughts on legal communication. He found that those with low levels of literacy had a preference for clear language.
So far, so logical.
What he didn’t expect to find was that people with high levels of literacy also preferred clear language.
This finding has helped increase our understanding of people’s reading preferences. It also had a huge impact on Crocstar director Christine Cawthorne, who used the research when training thousands of civil servants how to write for the web.
The two paired up to do a follow-up study:
We’ve gathered new data about how often people encounter legal information in the workplace and how traditional, hard-to-read legal documents hurt workplace productivity.
It’s been expanded into other English-speaking countries so we could gauge how preferences for legal communication differs from country to country, including: the US, the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
We wanted to see if the results of the first study held up (and with a broader audience).
We think you’ll find the following results intriguing
Here is just a sample:
no matter the country, people overwhelmingly preferred the plain language when given the choice between alternatives
no matter the sector - government, business, healthcare or law - both lawyers and non-lawyers frequently have to interpret legal information to do their jobs
plain language is what people want and makes them more productive
Read this ground-breaking study to find out more.
In a group of 679 people, 632 (93%) preferred the phrase ‘wasting time’ compared to ‘round the houses’