2020 Federal Plain Language Summit

On October 27 and 28, 2020, the Plain Language Action and Information Network (PLAIN) will bring experts together to explain how plain language can improve our government communication.

There will be two sessions each day. You will need to register for each one to receive the correct Zoom for Government links and conference details. Below is a short description of each of the four sessions.

Agenda

Tuesday, October 27

First Session (10:00 am - 12:15 pm, ET)

In this session you will hear from the following speakers:

• 10:00 am - 10:30 am: Welcome & Annual Report—Katherine Spivey, GSA’s Plain Language Launcher and co-chair of the Plain Language Action and Information Network (PLAIN) and Katina Stapleton, co-chair of PLAIN
• 10:35 am - 11:15 am: Putting Plain Language to the Test—Nicole Fenton, Senior Content Strategist
  • View the slides (PDF, 18.7 MB, 43 pages)
• 11:15 am - 12:15 pm: Keynote—Mark Mchale, GSA’s Senior Plain Language Official Associate Administrator, Office of Strategic Communications, GSA

Second Session (2:00 pm – 4:15 pm, ET)

In this session you will hear from the following speakers:

• 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm: Government CX: Intersection of CX and PL—Martha Dorris, Independent Consultant
  • View the slides (PDF, 4.68 MB, 20 pages)
• 3:00 pm - 3:30 pm: How We Got the Plain Writing Act Passed—Annetta Cheek, Chair, Standards Committee, International Federation for Plain Language
• 3:30 pm - 4:15 pm: Flimsy Claims for Legalese and False Criticisms of Plain Language: A 30-Year Collection—Joe Kimble, Professor Emeritus, Western Michigan University
  • View the slides (PDF, 112 KB, 14 pages)

Wednesday, October 28

Third Session (9:30 am – 12:00 pm, ET)

In this session you will hear from the following speakers:

• 9:30 am - 10:00 am: Use Plain Language to Influence, Motivate & Mobilize for Change—Bethany Blakey, Chief Modernization Strategist, CoE, TTS
  • View the slides (PDF, 1020 KB, 16 pages)
• 10:00 am - 11:00 am: Content Strategy—Ginny Redish
  • View the slides (PDF, 9.15 MB, 40 pages)
• 11:00 am - 12:00 pm: Sense making lessons from the Private Sector—Abby Covert, Information Architect & Author
  • View the slides (PDF, 11.2 MB, 53 pages)

Fourth Session (2:00 pm – 4:15 pm, ET)

In this session you will hear from the following speakers:

• 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm: How Smart Teams Create and Train Writers—Scott Kubie, Independent Consultant
  • View the slides (PDF, 9.26 MB, 23 pages)
• 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm: Plain Language—Katherine Spivey, GSA’s Plain Language Launcher and co-chair of the Plain Language Action and Information Network (PLAIN)

Our goal is to promote the use of plain language for all government communications. We believe that using plain language will save federal agencies time and money, and provide better customer service to the public.