1. Ron Brent August 2015 KISS or KICK your customers? Keep It Simple Stupid, rather than Keep It Complex Kid!

2. Introduction Most complainants don’t get what they want Satisfying the complainant requires an explanation of why

3. Good explanations are hard to create 1.Don’t quote rules or policies, explain reasons behind them. 2.Use graphs/pictures to tell a story 3.Would an 8 year old understand this 4.Use feedback, especially complaints 5.Keep it short Five ideas that help me create useful explanations:

4. 1. Don’t quote rules Most people know the rules before they complain If they don’t they probably aren’t interested Explain what rules mean and why they are there

5. 2. Use graphs/pictures to tell a story A picture can really be worth 1000 words Large slabs of text can be intimidating If you have to use text keep paragraphs short

6. 2. Use graphs/pictures to tell a story Runway 25 arrivals – Sydney airport 20102011201220132014 January21629420551174 February83337584365252 March110391944180411 April1123793916554712 May980131716631,038731 June12001018552904634 July9171170532330805 August11682797167381027 September375755477952295 October513464160694119 November280247182384239 December43173230532882

7. 2. Use graphs/pictures to tell a story

8. 3. Would an 8 year old understand this Focus on the basics: simple language; short, plain sentences; short paragraphs Almost half of all Australians aged 15 - 74 years had literacy skills below [the minimum level required to meet the increasingly complex demands of a knowledge society]. Language an 8 y.o. understands: – about 20 words per sentence – about 3 sentences per paragraph

10. 3. Would an 8 year old understand this Avoid being patronising But consider your explanations from the perspective of someone with limited comprehension Mirror the language of the complainant

11. 4. Use feedback – especially complaints Very hard to see from an outsider’s view Use the information outsiders provide Complaints provide concentrated ideas for improvement

12. 5. Keep it short People don’t read long explanations The longer the explanation the harder it is to understand You can always add more later

13. Thank you www.ano.gov.au