Communication is a key business priority. With a diverse workforce and with the ever increasing number of communication tools, how do you ensure everyone gets the message?

 

More often than not it can be the communication itself rather than the method which is in need of attention.

 

How brain friendly is your communication?

 

This can be applied to both our spoken and written communication.

 

As presenters and facilitators we recognise the impact of short sentences and simple words. But do you apply similar principles to your written communications - your handouts and course notes?

 

Consider a legal document such as a mortgage agreement – interesting? How about the latest Harry Potter novel?  Why do we feel such a change in state when imagining two written documents?

 

The answer lies in readability.

 

The Fog Index gives a measure of readability based upon the number of years' reading experience a person must have to understand the content.

 

It is calculated using the average number of words per sentence and the number of ‘long’ words (Three or more syllables)

 

To put this into perspective here are some comparisons:.

 

Mr Men Books                           3 - 5

Modern action fiction                10 - 12

The Times Editorial                  15 - 20

Legal documents                       25+

 

Fear not, there’s no need to go counting words yourself! Most word processing packages have readability tools to speed things up. Microsoft Word uses a tool which gives a score out of 100.

 

How readable are your:

 

• Notice boards?
• Reports or articles?
• e-mails?
• Internal publications?
• Leaflets?
• Handouts and course materials?

So what makes a passage easier to read?

 

Shorter sentences

 

Limiting the number of words per sentence speeds up the reading process by creating more manageable, bite sized chunks of information.

 

Fewer words of three syllables or more

 

Easier to read, easier to understand!  Reduce technical terms and jargon. Keep your words simple and concise

 

Use the Active Voice

 

Active sentences allow the reader to understand who or what created the action within a statement. Active sentences reduce the risk of appearing vague.

 

 

Call to action

 

Write your next communication and apply the fog index (or readability score).

 

With the same document:

• Shorten the sentences
• Reduce long words and jargon
• Include the who and the what to reduce passive sentences

Ask for feedback on both documents - and de-fog your communication.

This week’s FriendlyBrain Tip comes to you from Steve Marriott of Kaizen Training. Kaizen Training Limited is a well-established consulting and training firm based in the UK and offering its services to the global business community. Training for Excellence is a leading-edge Train the Trainer company based in the U.S. and providing training programs internationally. For more information, contact us at info@wetrain.biz

brain friendly communication facilitators presenters trainers workforce