Build more skills with Connecting with Citizens and Other Stakeholders course

by Nicole Watkins Campbell

Citizens’ trust in their governments is disappearing. Plain language can help bring it back. A researcher has called the gap between Spain’s citizens and their government “an abyss.” A similar problem is happening around the world for many reasons. One reason, however, is that governments don’t communicate well with citizens. In Canada, half of adults cannot read the information their governments write. Half.
 
Governments can rebuild the trust. They must: democracy and peace depend upon it.
Plain language can help. By communicating clearly, government show they know who their readers are and that they care about their needs. Readers tend to trust what they can understand. This why marketing writing is so easy to read. It’s also why you should consider learning about plain language: it’s good for your career.
 
Some governments have laws or regulations or policy to require or guide employees to use plain language. The ISO standard 24995 for plain language gives them another tool to build their capacity and improve their communication with citizens and other stakeholders.
 
This course will help municipal, provincial, and federal workers improve their writing or editing for the public, your boss, elected officials, worked in other governments or other departments. It will also be useful to writers or editors who offer services to government clients. 
 
Learning goals
You will learn to:
1.     identify your purpose in writing 
2.     understand your audiences’ motivations and needs
3.     use 10 writing tactics to make your writing more engaging
4.     test whether your documents are working for readers
 
I will be available by email any time and by phone or zoom if you get stuck. The self-directed course includes some videos, six marked exercises to test your learning, extra readings if you would like to go deeper, and a final assignment. A certificate is awarded for successful completion.

​Watch interview on PLA Youtube.
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Nicole Watkins Campbell
​Instructor
[email protected]

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