Professional development
Professional development events let you learn about the work of other plain language professionals and advocates.
In addition to these events hosted in English or in both English and French, we also host events in French only. You can find information about the French events here. You can find information about the events in French here.
Next event:
Using a Style Guide to Implement Plain Language in Your Organization (webinar presentation)
December 8, 2025, 12:00–1:00 PM Pacific
In this webinar, you’ll learn how to turn your house style guide into a handy manual for creating plain language documents.
Simply telling everyone in your organization to use plain language won’t make it happen. Providing training on the principles of plain language will help, but to make it part of your workplace culture you need to make it easy.
Editors and communications professionals use style guides to create consistency across communications. But they can also be very effective tools for sharing plain language guidelines and making them easily accessible to all writers. Michelle will show you how.
Michelle Waitzman is a plain language trainer, writer, and editor based in Toronto. She specializes in writing about complex subjects in approachable, easy-to-understand ways to help readers find, understand, and use the information they need. Author of four books and many articles and blog posts, Michelle has written about immigration, law, banking, taxes, personal finance, computer science, and more. She is a board member of Plain Language Association International (PLAIN) and a member of Editors Canada.
Networking
Networking events let you connect with other professionals and advocates, and discuss topics related to plain language.
Next discussion:
To be determined.