{
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    "title" : "Jargon Madness: A Plain Language Exercise |Digital.gov",
    "description": "Jargon Madness: A Plain Language Exercise",
    "home_page_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/","feed_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2022/11/07/jargon-madness-a-plain-language-exercise/index.json","item" : [
    {"title" :"Jargon Madness: A Plain Language Exercise","deck" : "Gamifying Plain Language","summary" : "During the 2022 Plain Language Summit, Laura Rabuck of the Veterans Health Administration demonstrated how to promote plain language practices by focusing on jargon, a common enemy of all plain writers.","date" : "2022-11-07T19:14:00-05:00","date_modified" : "2025-01-27T19:42:55-05:00","authors" : {"joshua-hardy" : "Joshua Hardy"},"topics" : {
        
            "communication" : "Communication",
            "plain-language" : "Plain language"
            },"primary_image" : { "uid" : "pl-quotes-sm2-madness-empty-tournament-competition-bracket-grid-oleksii-arseniuk-istock-getty-images-1074883916", "alt" :
  "An empty tournament competition grid template. The words Jargon Madness are centered at the top in black text, with the red and blue plain language quotaion marks logo on each side.", "width" :
  "1200", "height" :
  "630", "credit" :
  "", "caption" :
  "Oleksii Arseniuk, iStock, Getty Images", "format" :
  "png" },"branch" : "bc-archive-content-3",
      "filename" :"2022-11-08-jargon-madness-a-plain-language-exercise.md",
      
      "filepath" :"news/2022/11/2022-11-08-jargon-madness-a-plain-language-exercise.md",
      "filepathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/blob/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2022/11/2022-11-08-jargon-madness-a-plain-language-exercise.md",
      "editpathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/edit/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2022/11/2022-11-08-jargon-madness-a-plain-language-exercise.md","slug" : "jargon-madness-a-plain-language-exercise","url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2022/11/07/jargon-madness-a-plain-language-exercise/","weight" : "1","content" :"\u003cp\u003eFederal plain writing practitioners may find it hard to engage with their colleagues, and formal plain language training programs can sometimes be a difficult sell to leadership.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOne agency developed an entertaining exercise to promote plain language practices by focusing on a common enemy of the plain writer: \u003ca href=\"https://www.plainlanguage.gov/guidelines/words/avoid-jargon/\"\u003ejargon\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLaura Rabuck, a research health science specialist and lead content strategist at the Veterans Health Administration, created a \u0026ldquo;Jargon Madness\u0026rdquo; tournament-style bracket. It’s modeled after a similar annual college basketball-themed bracket. In this version, jargon battles for the title of “Most confusing” based on votes.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n        src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/va-jargon-madness-screenshot-2.png\"alt=\"A screencapture of the filled-out Jargon Madness bracket that the Veterans Health Administration used in 2021. The bracket shows 64 examples of jargon, each side starts with a column of 32. As the game progresses, the winning list of terms is reduced by half in the inner columns; 16, 8, 4. In the middle are the last two remaining terms, force multiplier and boil the ocean.\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"box \"\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003e\u003ca\nhref=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/static/plain-language-summit-jargon-madness-a-plain-language-exercise.pptx\"\u003eView the Jargon Madness slides (PowerPoint presentation, 1.54 MB, 34 pages)\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003efrom Laura Rabuck’s \u003ca href=\"https://digital.gov/event/2022/08/24/2022-federal-plain-language-summit/\"\u003e2022 Federal Plain Language Summit\u003c/a\u003e presentation. You can also \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfjKAYKLnvg\"\u003ewatch the 28-minute, 13-second video on YouTube\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eJargon Madness is a plain language conversation starter that cuts across the organizational chart. It offers engagement and education. Unlike a meeting or a scheduled training, it’s a fun, asynchronous activity that staff can participate in when they have time.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you want to host a Jargon Madness event at your agency, consider the following: \u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eConfirm \u003cstrong\u003eleadership buy-in\u003c/strong\u003e and if there’s an \u003cstrong\u003eaudience\u003c/strong\u003e.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eConfirm your \u003cstrong\u003echampions/sponsors\u003c/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003epartners\u003c/strong\u003e.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eConfirm \u003cstrong\u003estaffing support\u003c/strong\u003e.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eConfirm \u003cstrong\u003elanguage\u003c/strong\u003e with your general counsel.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDecide \u003cstrong\u003ebracket size\u003c/strong\u003e and corresponding \u003cstrong\u003etimeline\u003c/strong\u003e.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDecide (and test) where you’ll \u003cstrong\u003ehost\u003c/strong\u003e it and how \u003cstrong\u003evoting\u003c/strong\u003e will work.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDecide how to \u003cstrong\u003eidentify jargon\u003c/strong\u003e.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDevelop a \u003cstrong\u003emarketing plan\u003c/strong\u003e, however small (but mighty!).\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eResearch and draft ideas for \u003cstrong\u003eeducation\u003c/strong\u003e.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDecide on \u003cstrong\u003epost-event survey\u003c/strong\u003e.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStart now! Next March will arrive quickly.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"box \"\u003e\n  The \u003ca href=\"https://www.plainlanguage.gov/\"\u003ePlain Language Action and Information Network (PLAIN)\u003c/a\u003e is a group of federal employees from different agencies and specialties who support the use of clear communication in government writing. \u003ca href=\"https://digital.gov/communities/plain-language/\"\u003eJoin the Community of Practice\u003c/a\u003e.\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\n"}
  ]
}