Ep07 SLAPP your contract into shape: The SLAPP test for productive contracts
SLAPP your contract into productive shape
Mindset:
Fine tune document performanceOn this episode, we look at the SLAPP test.This test gives some key tactics we can use to improve the productivity of the contract document.We’ll cover:• Academic studies showing the effectiveness of visual contract elements• The picture superiority effect• Why easy to read is easy to like• Contract formatting tips
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Step 1 (Structure)
– Is your contract structured like a Reverse Sandwich so it’s useful & usable?
Step 2 (Likeable)
– Does your contract look good?
Step 3 (Automated)
– Is your contract ready for low-code automation?
Step 4 (Plain language )
– How easy is your contract to read & understand?
Step 5 (Pictures)
– Do you use pictures, flowcharts, graphics, icons, tables & other visuals to break up text?
Open the Nozbe
how checklist version of the SLAPP test
ACTIONABLE CHALLENGE
‘But I am simple in my communications!’
I hear you say.Well, there is an easy way to check. Go to your Sent email folder.Find the last email you sent which had more than 3 sentences.Head to
& paste the text in. See what score you get…If you get a grade over 9, try re-writing & simplifying.
LINKS
Links to sources from this episode of the
and background information:
Music: Silent Partner, ‘Sway this way’
VISUAL CONTRACTS
Learn more about visual contracts
H Haapio & S Passaria, ‘Improving Contract Clarity’ (31 July 2014) (an excellent webinar presentation with accompanying notes) & H Haapio & S Passaria, ‘Visual Law: What Lawyers Need To Learn From Information Designers’ (15 May 2013) www.blog.law.cornell.edu/voxpop/2013/05/15/visual-law-what-lawyers-need-to-learn-from-information-designers/accessed 10 June 2017.
Stefania Passera, ‘Contract visualization – boost your brand & bridge the language barrier’ (10 December 2014). www.iaccm.com/resources/?id=8255&cb=1478262447, accessed 10 June 2017.
DL Nelson, US Reed, & JR Walling, ‘Pictorial superiority effect’ (1976) Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning & Memory, 2, 523-528.
For a visual overview of the Picture Superiority Effect, see DigitalSplashMedia’s fun animation www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLLDUyy8utY, accessed 13 May 2017.
DOCUMENT STRUCTURE
Get the template Key Details Table and other free resources via https://checklistlegal.com/resources
The eBook by Verity White, Secrets of Productive Contracts
Quick wins for contract productivity: a Nozbe. how electronic checklist
Document structure concepts: International Business Communication Standards Association (IBCS-A)
ER Tufte, ‘Envisioning Information’ (1990) www.edwardtufte.com/tufte/books_ei, accessed 10 June 2017.
Hannah Morgan-Stone, ‘Plain to all: Using logic to distill complex thinking into clear documents’ (November 2016) Presentation at Clarity2016, Wellington NZ.
READABILITY
Caitlin Whiteman, ‘Why easy-to-read is easy to like – what science tells us about the remarkable benefits of simplicity’, (21 March 2016) https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-easy-to-read-easy-like-what-science-tells-us-caitlin-whiteman
H Song & N Schwarz, ‘If it’s hard to read, it’s hard to do: Processing fluency affects effort prediction and motivation’ (2008) Psychological Science 19(10): 986–988. www.dornsife.usc.edu/assets/sites/780/docs/08_ps_song___schwarz_effort.pdf, accessed 10 June 2017.
See generally Geoffrey Marnell (excellent not only for the title pun but also the content) ‘Measuring Readability, Part 1: The spirit is will but the Flesch is weak’, www.abelard.com.au/readability%20statistics.pdf, & ’Advantages & disadvantages of readability formulas’
PLAIN LANGUAGE
Shelley Davies is an avid promoter of plain language & writing like a human.
NA Merola, ‘We like people who are easy to read: The influence of processing fluency in impression formation’, (2014) PhD thesis, University of Texas. http://www.repositories.lib.utexas.edu/handle/2152/21572, accessed 11 June 2017.
S Michie & K Lester, ‘Words matter: increasing the implementation of clinical guidelines‘, (2005) Quality & Safety in Health Care 14:367–370. Retrieved via http://www.qualitysafety.bmj.com/content/14/5/367.long, accessed 11 June 2017.
Head to our Checklist Boutique for more resources and templates mentioned in this episode
