Goal: Help organisations embed plain language into their values and mission to promote inclusion, build trust, and ensure clear communication is part of their culture.
Embedding plain language into your organisation’s values and mission goes beyond technical writing. It becomes part of your organisational identity and culture. This means that, from the top down, everyone agrees that clear, accessible communication is a fundamental principle.
Why is this important?
It shows you respect all audiences, including:
- people with limited literacy,
- non-native speakers,
- people with cognitive disabilities,
- and those unfamiliar with complex terminology.
You send a message that you care about inclusion and fairness.
- It builds trust and credibility. Customers, clients, and stakeholders are more likely to engage when they understand what you’re saying and feel respected.
- It improves decision-making. When staff, partners, and clients understand your goals, they can better align their actions.
Practical steps to include plain language in your mission
- Review your existing mission statement and core values and look for opportunities to highlight communication, transparency, inclusion, or accessibility.
- Rewrite parts of your mission to reflect a commitment to clarity and inclusion. For example, instead of “We strive for excellence in communication,” say, “We communicate clearly and accessibly to serve all members of our community.”
- Share your updated mission across all platforms: internal documents, websites, social media, and public materials.
Example statement
“Our organisation is committed to communicating clearly, respectfully, and accessibly so that everyone can understand and participate.”
Reflection prompt
- Why is embedding plain language into an organisation’s mission and values important for inclusion and trust?
- What are some practical steps an organisation can take to reflect a commitment to plain language in its mission statement?