What is the great hidden cost of doing business and carrying on the government? Joseph Kimble, a professor emeritus at Cooley Law School in Lansing, Michigan, says it’s poor communication. And the numbers are staggering. Anyone who needs proof can find it in Kimble’s just-published second edition of Writing for Dollars, Writing to Please: The Case for Plain Language in Business, Government and Law. He has been collecting data for decades.
One chapter in the book summarizes 60 empirical studies showing the benefits of using plain language for both sides — agencies and companies on the one hand and consumers on the other.
Here are just a handful of examples:
- The Veterans Benefits Admin-istration revised — and simplified — a single letter and tested it at a regional office. From one year to the Please log in to see the rest of this story.
