Go big or go big: enter as a team or an individual in the Plain Language Champion category

Shine bright like a diamond — enter the champion category of the Plain Language Awards | Image by Dimitris Christou from Pixabay

You may have read about the Champion category for Best Organisation. But, rather than an organisation, you have an individual (maybe it’s you?) or a team that deserves recognition for its plain language achievements.

The Plain Language Champion — Best Individual or Team award honours the people who work hard to make plain language a reality in their organisation. The award is open to individuals or teams who have significantly contributed to a plain language initiative in any New Zealand or Australian organisation.

Now is your time to shine, so don’t be shy!

We know that so much work goes into projects that support clear communication. Over the past few years we’ve seen some amazing examples of this. These communications play a big part in us keeping the Plain Language Awards going year after year.

We know many teams and individuals have done such inspiring work, whether in the public eye or known only to their colleagues or customers.

Here are some examples to get you thinking. You or your team might have:

influenced senior leaders to support a plain language initiative
led a plain language project, large or small
run workshops or regular team meetings on using plain language
formally or informally supported other writers to help them produce clear, reader-friendly communication more consistently
written newsletter articles or intranet resources about plain language for your team or organisation
rewritten template letters into plain language, saving time for your team
created clear, easy-to-use policies or guidelines for your organisation.

Find out about past Champions

Meet the 2023 winner

Talking Trouble Aotearoa NZ won this category in 2023. The judges loved the way they’re making plain language easier, more accessible, and achievable for many.

Through plain language and clear communication, they’re empowering people to become participants, not outsiders, in processes that affect their lives.

Meet the winning entry in 2022

Phil Belcher from MAS took home the trophy in 2022. The judges said:

It’s clear from the glowing reviews Phil has received from many of the Medical Assurance Society’s partners that he’s made a significant and influential contribution to their plain language initiative, with great results.

Australia took it home in 2021

Soon after opening entries to Australia, they jumped in with a champion! Lauren Kelindeman put in an impressive entry.

Lauren shows her strength and dedication in fighting the good fight — she has clearly influenced, encouraged and supported others in her company to use and prioritise plain English. What’s even more impressive is that she did this in a legal setting, which can be quite challenging and often met with resistance.

Read about Lauren Kelindeman’s entry

Meet the winning entry in 2018

Here’s what the judges said about the impressive entry from the MSD Better Letters Project team in 2018.

This initiative is representative of the nitty gritty, down and dirty, battlefield for plain language. They are making appreciable change at scale. And making a difference in the lives of people in vulnerable circumstances. Very well done. The Better Letters Project at MSD is a worthy plain English champion!

Meet finalist Andy Baldwin of WineWorks

The judges loved Andy’s passion as a champion of plain language in his organisation. Read how he did it.

I enlisted some help and formed a team. I began to study plain English and promote it within the organisation, presenting my ideas to managers and directors. Like any movement it took time to get momentum, but once we achieved ‘critical mass’ people began asking me to teach them how to write better. I think this is the biggest compliment of all. Now we have people throughout WineWorks writing and using great plain English SOPs in their daily work. This is improving our processes and helps to upskill our teams.