Analyze your audience: You write to inform your audience, so learn all about them. Who are they? What information do they seek? What do they already know? What is their general education level?

Organize your information: Get right to the point. Begin with the information your audience wants and needs the most. Use headings, sections, and plenty of blank space. This helps readers to scan your writing and zoom in on what they need to know.

Write clearly: Use short, commonly understood words. Keep your sentences short as well, but vary them enough to make the reading enjoyable. Paragraphs should be—you guessed it—short. Include smooth transitions to lead your readers through the text. Let your audience analysis guide your word choice and writing level. Avoid jargon.

Add punch: How can you engage your readers? Use powerful verbs in the active voice and vivid, specific nouns. Choose verbs and nouns with enough punch that they don’t need adverbs and adjectives to modify them.

• Verbs: Instead of writing "The boy ran quickly down the hall," write “The boy rocketed down the hall.” Ditch the weak verb+adverb combo. Subsitute it with a verb that crackles: raced, sprinted, zoomed, catapulted, flew. Verbs fuel your writing. Go for the high-octane blend.

• Nouns: Use a noun that puts an image in your reader's mind. Instead of saying "performer," get specific.  Are you referring to a juggler, magician, singer, dancer, clown, pianist, or what? If you mean a clown, use that word. Your readers will enjoy imagining a clown.

Remove clutter: Every excess word and syllable is like adding another barnacle to a ship’s hull. The vessel slows to a crawl. Remove all unneeded words, phrases, and fluff. Strunk and White said it best in The Elements of Style: Make every word tell.

Here at the factory, we use all of these techniques and many others. We have a lot more to say about plain language in our blog . Enjoy!