THE UP-GOER FIVE TEXT EDITOR

Are you ever called upon to write a communication piece for distribution to all employees?  Do you end up writing a document that is full of compensation jargon?  Do you find it difficult to write a piece that uses common language?  I know I do!  Well, I found a great little web tool that will help in this endeavor. It's called "The Up-Goer Five Text Editor".

Here's how the website describes itself:

CAN YOU EXPLAIN A HARD IDEA USING ONLY THE TEN HUNDRED MOST USED WORDS? IT'S NOT VERY EASY. TYPE IN THE BOX TO TRY IT OUT.

Okay, Ten Hundred? Really? Why not just use the word thousand? Why you ask? Because the word "thousand" is not one of the thousand most used words in the english language. Ha! Who knew!

I tried writing a piece that explains base pay and incentives and bonuses and here's what I came up with:

"Pay is what people get for doing their work day to day. Some people get added pay for doing more work. The added pay could be planned or maybe the added pay is a surprise. It's all about how you want to get people excited about their work. People want to feel that they are making a mark on the world."

This is a little too simplified I think. But it does provide a starting point for writing a document that is much more understandable.  Here's a revised piece:

"Base pay is what people get for doing their work day to day. Some people get added pay for doing more work. The added pay could be planned or maybe the added pay is a surprise. Added pay that is planned is called an incentive. Added pay that is a surprise is called a bonus. It's all about how you want to get people excited about their work. People want to feel that they are making a mark in the world. Incentives are used more than bonuses to get people engaged in feeling they are making a difference."

Here's a screenshot of the second piece on "The Up-Goer Five Text Editor" showing all my non-permitted words. Click to enlarge.