In honor of World Usability Day, which will be celebrated Thursday, our guest blogger today is Whitney Quesenbery, a user researcher, user experience practitioner, and usability expert with a passion for clear communication.

Between websites, blogs, twitter, and all the other new online communities, there are more ways for the government and citizens to communicate than ever. Just communicating more won’t mean much unless everyone understands what is actually being said. 

That’s where plain language comes in.  This is not a new concept. The idea of speaking directly to people, in terms they understand, seems obvious. It can be hard to break a long tradition of arcane terminology and long-winded sentences, but the results can be a win for everyone.

Which would you rather read:

“The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends a half hour or more of moderate physical activity on most days, preferably every day. The activity can include brisk walking, calisthenics, home care, gardening, moderate sports exercise, and dancing.”

Or

“Do at least 30 minutes of exercise, like brisk walking, most days of the week.”

That example is from a Department of Health and Human Services project that replaced a 6-page article with 1-page fold-out brochure. The shorter version is not only fewer words to read, but gets right to the point. It speaks directly to the reader, uses an active voice and keeps the message as simple as possible.

Who wins when you write information in plain language?

• Citizens win - they can understand something on their own.
  After one government agency rephrased the language in a letter that it sends to citizens many times each year, phone calls to ask for explanations dropped by more than 80%. 
• Agencies win - they don’t have to spend as much time and money answering questions.
  When a cable company rewrote and redesigned its bill, call volume dropped by 15%. The calls were shorter, too.
• You win - when you don’t have to spend as much time explaining what you meant. In the first example, the new letter meant almost 1,000 phone calls that a small staff didn’t have to answer.

Want to learn more?

• Plainlanguage.gov has more examples and useful tools.
• The Center for Plain Language has a toolkit for starting plain language in your organization and other resources.
• The Office of the Federal Register has guidelines for clear and concise legal writing.

World Usability Day is on November 12. This international day is about “making life easy” and user friendly.  It is celebrated in over 36 countries.

In Washington, DC, Webcontent.gov and the Center for Plain Language have teamed up celebrate the sustaining power of Usability + Plain Language on World Usability Day. World Usability Day events and resources to help you build your skills and improve your documents and web sites include:

• Free “mini-consultations” with a usability or plain language expert to improve your government web page or document by phone on Nov. 12 from 1:00 – 4:00 pm ET
• A free in-person plain language course on Nov. 12 from 9:00 – 11:30 am in Washington DC near Union Station
• The Plain Language + Usability Resource List to help you conduct a World Usability Day activity at your agency or company and improve your website year-round
  

Our guest blogger today is Martha Nudel, who works in the Division of Visitor Services and Communications for the National Wildlife Refuge System of the Department of the Interior.  

What’s the most natural place to marvel at autumn’s show?  A National Wildlife Refuge is hard to beat — and you can see for yourself during National Wildlife Refuge Week.  Celebrated October 11-17, National Wildlife Refuge Week offers events across the country, many of them for most of the month of October. 

Whether you prefer to admire the fall colors, thrill to a skyful of migratory birds, explore a mountain trail or learn about the cultural resources that are part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s conservation mission, you can find what you like at a National Wildlife Refuge.  National Wildlife Refuge Week celebrates the richness of the 550 units that make up America’s National Wildlife Refuge System.  And it’s a great chance to find a family event near where you live.

When President Theodore Roosevelt established tiny Pelican Island in Florida in 1903 as the first National Wildlife Refuge, his mission was clear: protect the island’s birds from poachers and plume hunters.  With that simple promise of wildlife protection, the National Wildlife Refuge System was born.  National Wildlife Refuge Week gives the nation so many chances to experience wildlife in their natural habitats and play a firsthand role in conservation by participating in special events and programs, or simply observing and enjoying the great outdoors at a local refuge.

National Wildlife Refuges are dedicated to the conservation of fish and wildlife and their habitats. They also offer a wide range of wildlife-dependent recreation — from fishing, hunting and hiking, to wildlife observation and photography, and environmental education.  The Refuge System includes more than 2,500 miles of land and water trails.

A Sampling of National Wildlife Refuge Week Highlights:

Patuxent Research Refuge, Maryland
Friday, October 16 and Saturday, October 17:  For the first time, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will host the nation’s oldest and most prestigious wildlife art competition, the Federal Duck Stamp Art Contest, at the refuge.  The winning design will grace the 2010-2011 Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp, the cornerstone of one of the world’s most successful conservation program.  In addition to watching the contest judging, the public can explore walking trails on the refuge or take a guided tram tour.  All artwork entered in the 2009 Federal Duck Stamp Contest will be on display at the refuge’s National Wildlife Visitor Center through October 17. 

Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Louisiana
Saturday, October 17, Annual Fall Celebration: Enjoy family activities and free fried fish dinners. 

Southeast Louisiana Refuges
Saturday, October 17, Annual Wild Things Festival: Attend a festival showcasing eight National Wildlife Refuges. The festival features speakers, live animals, wildlife crafts, live entertainment, gardens and grounds tours. Children’s highlights include the Youth Wildlife Art Show, orienteering, decoy painting and nature crafts. Wild Things also features canoe and pontoon boat tours of Bayou Lacombe.

You can take advantage of all the great events going on during National Wildlife Refuge Week at a National Wildlife Refuge near you! 

Our guest blogger today is Colleen Blessing, who works on the energy statistics website at the Energy Information Administration.   

When I think of October, pumpkins, ghosts, and candy come to mind.   But I’m guessing most of us don’t conjure up thoughts of coal, oil, and electricity in our trick-or-treat bag.  

What?  October is about more than just candy and Halloween?  Yep, October is Energy Awareness Month!   

Ever since the Presidential proclamation in 1991, States, organizations, schools and citizens have used October to promote public understanding of energy and the wise and efficient use of that energy.  The theme this year is A Sustainable Energy Future:  Putting All the Pieces Together. 

But how do we put all the pieces together if we don’t even know what all the pieces are?  It’s like when you are doing a jigsaw puzzle that’s missing pieces—you just can’t see the whole picture.  Well, it’s the same for energy.  Most of us need to learn about more pieces of the energy puzzle to better understand the big picture.

We all need to be more aware of our use of resources, where our fuel comes from, and how energy affects our economy and the environment.  Gosh, it seems like energy is in the news every day.  Some of the topics are confusing.  We think we should understand, but we really don’t.

Do you know what biofuels are?; what renewable energy incentives are out there?; where our oil imports come from?

So check this out: To celebrate Energy Awareness Month, the U.S.  Energy Information Administration just launched a basic energy encyclopedia.   It’s bite-sized articles, in simple English, on all kinds of energy topics, with graphs and links to more information.  This new energy resource has everything from an energy conversion calculator, to where emissions come from, to why our heating oil gets dyed red! 

Did you know oil didn’t come from dinosaurs?  Did you know that hydrogen is made from water? 

Does October make you think of crunchy leaves, chilly Fall sweater weather, and heating bills?  Find out about heating fuels. 

Energy facts—almost as good as Halloween chocolate…and better for you!