by Sue Horner | Jun 23, 2025 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Not to pick on lawyers or anything, but I found a letter to shareholders that’s clearly written by a committee of legal beagles. With an opening that crammed 120 words into one sentence, it cried out for the “Before & After” treatment....
by Sue Horner | Feb 25, 2025 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Companies often have to meet government requirements to let people know what they’re up to. To do so, they publish public notices online and in newspapers. But what if those public notices are dense and confusing? A recent newspaper notice caught my eye because the...
by Sue Horner | May 22, 2024 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
The easier we make it to read what we write, the more people actually will read it. Even more important, they’ll understand and remember it. That’s a key part of plain language: Helping readers find what they need; understand what they find; and use what they find to...
by Sue Horner | Apr 24, 2024 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
A non-disclosure agreement or NDA is a common contract between contractors and large companies. It’s kind of a prenup covering the relationship, where we writers and other contractors promise not to divulge the secrets to be shared with us. You can bet the lawyers...
by Sue Horner | Jan 21, 2024 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Have you ever started reading something, and had to stop because you lost your way in a long, meandering sentence? That’s what happened to me while reading an article in the Entertainment section of my local newspaper. The opening sentence rang in at 49 words....
by Sue Horner | Jul 21, 2023 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
If there’s an event involving people, you can bet someone is going to get injured. Oh, and the organizers don’t want to be responsible. That seems to be the thinking behind the official waiver you must sign to take part in a 5K run or walk. But will people understand...
by Sue Horner | Jan 25, 2023 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
This may be a new year, but it’s the same old, same old when it comes to wordy, baffling language. And you’ll find lots of that in any company’s Terms of Use. Terms of Use should be easy to read, don’t you think? And making them easy is just...
by Sue Horner | Nov 23, 2022 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
In the old days, a handshake was your contract. Today, the hands involved belong to lawyers, and they are all over the simplest of contracts. Unfortunately, as Ohio Judge Mark P. Painter says, “Most legal writing is atrocious.” Forget short, crisp sentences. One...
by Sue Horner | Apr 24, 2022 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
What can one person do to “invest in our planet,” the theme for Earth Day 2022? I was pondering that while out picking up garbage and recyclables to mark Earth Day. Even though I picked up a bag of each, you’d be right to suspect there will be another...
by Sue Horner | Apr 12, 2022 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
“The vast majority of your social posts will never be seen by the vast majority of your followers.” So says Michael J. Katz, who helps professional service firms talk and write about their work. Oh sure, posts made on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc., are “around for...
