The story so far
In the beginning was the word. Then the printing press spread the word far and wide.
A few people — the editors of successive Bible editions, Shakespeare, Samuel Johnson, Hemingway — tried to tame this wild flowering of language. But it persisted in most spheres of public life, wherever the printed word ruled.
In the early 1980s, a major shift took place. In Britain and North America, a new breed of entrepreneurial pragmatists started to think about who actually read the stuff. They realised that the long-suffering public had a right to understand processes that affected their daily lives.
Pressure went on lawyers to explain things to clients instead of just to other lawyers. Banks and insurance companies began to consider their customers as equal partners in business. Public servants served the public.
But the language had another surprise to spring. At the century's end, new 'consultancy' industries — management, marketing, IT, wellness — were flourishing. They had new, impenetrable lingos all of their own.
Then along came the ubiquitous PC (personal computer). Overnight it reshaped our modes of written communication — websites, online publishing, emails, PowerPoint presentations, text messages, e-whatevers. That other PC (political correctness) also stuck its oar in.
As we advance into the heralded 'information age' of the 21st century, the challenge is on all who communicate publicly to KEEP IT SIMPLE. The customer wants to understand — and the customer is always right.
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