Ep07: The SLAPP test for productive contracts

Checklist Legal Podcast with Verity White

Mindset: FINE TUNE DOCUMENT PERFORMANCE On this episode, we look at the SLAPP test. 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 The SLAPP test: http://bit.ly/CLL_SLAPP <<< 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? <<< 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. Click https://www.webpagefx.com/tools/readable/ & paste that text in. See what score you get… try re-writing & simplifying if over grade 9. << LINKS >> Formatting skills: https://www.howtogeek.com/school/microsoft-word-document-formatting-essentials/lesson5/all/ Check the costs of poor writing using the ReWrite for Change calculators (http://rewriteforchange.com/calculators-2/). Readability tools: Grammarly (https://www.grammarly.com/) Test the Automated Visual Notice Clause Builder http://bit.ly/CLL_Visual_Notice_Clause Learn more about visual contracts (http://bit.ly/CLL_Visual_Contracts) Document structure concepts: International Business Communication Standards Association (IBCS-A) Hannah Morgan-Stone, ‘Plain to all: Using logic to distill complex thinking into clear documents’ (November 2016) Presentation at Clarity2016, Wellington NZ. ER Tufte, ‘Envisioning Information’ (1990) www.edwardtufte.com/tufte/books_ei, accessed 10 June 2017. 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. Visual contracting: 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. 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’, NA Merola, ‘We like people who are easy to read: The influence of processing fluency in impression formation; (2014) 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 qualitysafety.bmj.com/content/14/5/367.long, accessed 11 June 2017. See https://www.checklistlegal.com/podcast for show notes, resources links, & templates. Music: 'Sway this way' by @SilentPartner