Plain language has been part of government communications guidelines for years. Now it’s showing up in content design, UX writing and brand communications too. For communicators, it’s worth understanding what it actually means and why getting it right is more nuanced than it first appears.
It’s Not About Simple Writing
The most common misconception about plain language is that it means dumbing things down. It doesn’t. The more useful way to think about it: a communication works in plain language when the audience can find what they need, understand it, and do something with it. That’s as much a structural problem as a writing one. Word choice matters, but so does how information is sequenced, how headings are used, and what gets included versus left out. Canada formalized this thinking in 2025 with its first National Plain Language Standard, a guidance for organizations on how to make communications clearer and more accessible across the board. Why it matters for communicators: plain language isn’t a style preference, it’s a design decision that
directly affects whether your audience can act on what you’ve written.
Why It Gets Complicated, Especially in Government
Applying plain language in a public sector environment comes with a specific set of pressures. These aren’t excuses for unclear writing, they’re structural realities worth understanding:
● Legal and policy constraints: Communications often reference legislation directly, which limits how much language can be simplified without risking misrepresentation. The line between clear
and compliant isn’t always obvious.
● A wide, diverse audience: A single document may need to work for people across literacy levels, languages, and familiarity with government processes, all at once.
● Multi-layered approvals: Drafts move through legal, policy, and management review. Each round can add language that protects the organization but makes the document harder to read.
Knowing when to push back is as much a skill as the writing itself.
● Public trust and accountability: Government communications have to be transparent and defensible. Clarity and precision have to coexist, which means writers are often holding both at
once.
Plain Language Beyond Government: The UX Connection
Plain language started as a public sector and legal concern, but it’s increasingly part of how content designers and UX teams think about their work across industries. When users can’t understand what they’re reading, they don’t act on it and that has real consequences, whether it’s a government benefits page, a bank’s onboarding flow, or a healthcare consent form. One study found that 91% of consumers routinely agree to terms and conditions without reading them. That’s a plain language problem as much as anything else. Tech companies, financial institutions, and healthcare organizations are starting to treat clarity as a design principle rather than a copyediting step. The overlap between plain language and UX content design is a space worth watching and a signal that this skill travels well beyond any single sector.
Why it’s Worth Paying Attention To
Plain language is increasingly showing up as a topic in professional development spaces. IABC/BC’s Special Interest Groups and events regularly touch on audience-centred communication, and plain language sits right at the intersection of that work. If it’s a skill gap worth addressing, those conversations are a good place to start. For communicators across sectors, the underlying principle stays the same: when the audience can’t use the information, the communication hasn’t worked regardless of how accurate it is.
Key Takeaways
● Plain language is about helping audiences find, understand, and act on information, not simplifying for its own sake.
● In the public sector, legal constraints, diverse audiences, and multi-layer approvals make plain language a stakeholder skill as much as a writing skill.
● The convergence of plain language with UX and content design is expanding its relevance across every sector.
● For communicators at any stage, it’s a skill that compounds and one worth developing before it becomes a requirement.
Want to develop this skill further? Explore IABC/BC’s upcoming events and Special Interest Groups to connect with communicators working on audience-centred communication across
BC.
