About us

Every business starts with an idea. Mine is to help organisations share information more effectively—and in doing so, make the world a little fairer.

In a career spanning academia, central government and the wider public sector, I’ve had plenty of opportunities to experience the misery of unplain English first-hand. I’ve even inflicted it on others myself! But after being faced with a particularly impenetrable report one day, I finally realised:

If I, with all my insider knowledge, struggle to read the information we put out, how can we expect the people we’re trying to help, to understand it?

Now, with every piece of work I do I get to help other people make the world a little fairer. And in these times of misinformation, disinformation and alternative facts, the clarity that Plain English brings feels ever more important.

 
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My name is Emma Fossey, and I’ve been writing and editing documents of one sort or another for over 30 years.

My doctorate is in psychology but I also studied English at university, I enjoy learning foreign languages―even dead ones, like Latin―and I was a qualified TEFL (teach English as a foreign language) teacher.

As well as specialising in Plain English, I’m a trained editor, proofreader and trainer. I’m also proud to be a lead judge for the New Zealand & Australia Plain Language Awards. All of that means I have a solid grounding in the technical ins and outs of writing clearly, as well as in ways to help people who don’t. Crucially, I’ve been where my customers are, so I recognise their doubts, their difficulties and the indifference they may face.

I love seeing the penny drop when clients see the impact of their new writing style and they too become enthused and confident about the difference they can make.

And whenever someone says, ‘Hey Emma, how can you write or edit my stuff when you don’t know my subject as well as I do?’ I tell them, ‘Neither do your readers, which makes me perfect!’

I’m supported by a talented group of associates, who between them cover a breadth of subjects, including fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), the pharmaceutical industry, banking, charities, policing and cyber security.

Thanks to our various skills—researcher, writer, editor, proofreader, trainer, project and programme manager—every project we take on benefits from every area of our expertise.

What’s more, a business personality test has confirmed what we already suspected: that we’re slightly fixated on high standards—of our services, your documents and writing generally.

My name is Emma Fossey, and I’ve been writing and editing documents of one sort or another for over 30 years.

My doctorate is in psychology but I also studied English at university, I enjoy learning foreign languages―even dead ones, like Latin―and I was a qualified TEFL (teach English as a foreign language) teacher.

As well as specialising in Plain English, I’m a trained editor, proofreader and trainer. I’m also proud to be a lead judge for the New Zealand & Australia Plain English Awards. All of that means I have a solid grounding in the technical ins and outs of writing clearly, as well as in ways to help people who don’t. Crucially, I’ve been where my customers are, so I recognise their doubts, their difficulties and the indifference they may face.

I love seeing the penny drop when clients see the impact of their new writing style and they too become enthused and confident about the difference they can make.

 And whenever someone says, ‘Hey Emma, how can you write or edit my stuff when you don’t know my subject as well as I do?’ I tell them, ‘Neither do your readers, which makes me perfect!’

I’m supported by a talented group of associates, who between them cover a breadth of subjects, including fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), the pharmaceutical industry, banking, charities, policing and cyber security.

Thanks to our various skills—researcher, writer, editor, proofreader, trainer, project and programme manager—every project we take on benefits from every area of our expertise.

What’s more, a business personality test has confirmed what we already suspected: that we’re slightly fixated on high standards—of our services, your documents and writing generally.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Here at P(h)HEW we use Plain English and plain language interchangeably. That’s because what we do encompasses both.

Plain English is defined in terms of what it is: a specific style of writing that uses clear, concise and non-complex language. Plain language is defined in terms of what it aims to do: make writing as quick and easy as possible for its readers to understand. We believe that both are about writing from your readers’ point of view; transforming vagueness, wordiness and confusing terminology into language everyone can understand; and making sure that the structure and appearance of your documents helps readers absorb your messages quickly and easily.

No, it isn’t. Plain English is about writing for your readers, clearly, concisely and in a friendly tone. That means using precise and familiar words rather than needlessly complex or unnatural language.

Famous clever people who advocate clear writing include: from history, Einstein, Cicero, Hippocrates, Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Johnson, George Orwell, Mark Twain, WB Yeats; and more recently, Barack Obama, Princess Anne, King Charles, Margaret Thatcher, Sir John Major, Tony Blair and Andrew Marr.

Governments (UK, Scottish and Welsh), public sector bodies and many leading companies around the world have signed up to using Plain English. Some governments even encourage those who work for or with them to use Plain English too.

If you’re interested in seeing who those organisations are, the Plain English Campaign in the UK lists around 370 members. They include government departments and local authorities, banks and insurance companies, universities, health services and global companies.

It stands to reason: if something’s worth writing about, it’s worth making sure your readers understand it. More and more governments and organisations around the world are turning to Plain English, and there are a number of compelling reasons why:

  1. Many people struggle with reading—in the UK, the average reading age is just that of a nine-year-old; many public documents have a reading age double that.
  2. Even fluent readers find many documents hard going— writing that is vague, wordy and jargon-heavy makes writing time-consuming and hard to understand for everyone.
  3. Although a great many people in the world today speak English, for two-thirds of them English is not their first language.
  4. For all the reasons above, organisations save considerable time and money when they use Plain English in their documents (you can see examples of these savings at the bottom of each of our services pages).

Plain English makes your documents quicker and easier to read. That means people are more likely to read and understand what you have to say. And when your readers are better informed, they’re more likely to make better decisions.

Quite simply, Plain English makes it more likely that people will understand what you’re trying to tell them.

But there are other benefits too. People tend to see organisations that use Plain English as friendly and considerate, and that’s a great way to build relationships with your readers. Clearer documents also mean fewer queries or complaints, saving you and your organisation considerable time and money. You can see just how much organisations have saved by using Plain English, in the examples on our services pages.

Yes. Anyone who writes as part of their job can learn to write in Plain English.

While some people may find it quicker to grasp the principles than others, our TEPL (Teach English as Plain Language) technique means those who are less confident writers can still learn to write clearly and effectively.

Although it can take time to become proficient, in our experience what’s important is how committed you are to changing how you write: writers who genuinely want to learn Plain English tend to be the most successful at it.

As is the case when developing any new skill, some people find learning Plain English fairly easy while others find it less so.

Most of the principles of Plain English writing are fairly straightforward. For the more technical ones, our TEPL (Teach English as Plain Language) method offers a simpler way of getting to grips with writing clearly.

Probably the hardest part of it all is getting used to applying Plain English to your writing. That’s why we offer to follow up our training with further exercises and/or coaching.

Many of your readers won’t be experts in your field either, but you expect them to understand your documents. If we don’t understand what you’re saying, chances are they won’t either. With our ‘lay’ hat on, we can spot the words and writing styles that readers are likely to struggle with; and with our ‘Plain English hat’ on, we can turn them into language everyone can understand—all of which makes us ideally qualified to help you.

Our TEPL (Teaching English as a Plain Language) method of teaching draws on elements of the TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) approach. As well as teaching course participants the theory and principles of Plain English, we provide a more practical framework that helps them think about their content more intuitively. Participants who are less comfortable around language may find this approach particularly helpful.

SERVICES

Whether you’re sharing information, knowledge, advice or support, your wisdom can change lives, save lives or just make them plain easier. So let us help you make your words count.

Link to: writing

Writing

Link to: editing

Editing

Link to: Academic editing

Academic editing

Link to: Corporate group training

Corporate Group Training

Link to: Tailored packages

Tailored Packages