TED2010
Alan Siegel: Let's simplify legal jargon!
Alan Siegel: Pojednostavimo pravni žargon!
Filmed:
Readability: 4.3
980,643 views
Pravni obrasci, ugovori o kreditima, zakoni o zdravstvu: Prenatrpani su nerazgovjetnim žargonom, kaže Alan Siegel, i nerazumljivo su dugački. On poziva na jednostavan, razuman redizajn -- i jasan engleski -- kako bi pravna papirologija bila razumljiva svima nama.
Alan Siegel - Executive, simplicity guru
A branding expert and one of the leading authorities on business communication, Alan Siegel wants to put plain English into legal documents for government and business. Full bio
A branding expert and one of the leading authorities on business communication, Alan Siegel wants to put plain English into legal documents for government and business. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:15
So, basically we have public leaders,
0
0
3000
Dakle, u načelu imamo javne vođe,
00:18
public officials who are out of control;
1
3000
3000
javne službenike koji su izvan kontrole.
00:21
they are writing bills that are unintelligible,
2
6000
2000
Pišu zakone koji su nerazumljivi.
00:23
and out of these bills are going to come
3
8000
2000
I iz tih zakona će proizaći
00:25
maybe 40,000 pages of regulations, total complexity,
4
10000
5000
možda 40,000 stranica propisa, jako složenih,
00:30
which has a dramatically negative impact on our life.
5
15000
3000
koji će imati dramatično negativan utjecaj na naš život.
00:33
If you're a veteran coming back from Iraq or Vietnam
6
18000
4000
Ukoliko ste veteran koji se vraća iz Iraka ili Vijetnama,
00:37
you face a blizzard of paperwork to get your benefits;
7
22000
4000
suočit ćete se s brdom papirologije kako bi dobili svoje povlastice.
00:41
if you're trying to get a small business loan,
8
26000
2000
Ukoliko pokušavate dobiti zajam za malo poduzeće,
00:43
you face a blizzard of paperwork.
9
28000
2000
suočavate se s hrpom papirologije.
00:45
What are we going to do about it? I define simplicity
10
30000
2000
Što ćemo poduzeti po tom pitanju? Ja predlažem jednostavnost
00:47
as a means to achieving clarity,
11
32000
3000
kao sredstvo putem kojeg postižemo jasnoću,
00:50
transparency and empathy,
12
35000
2000
transparentnost i empatiju,
00:52
building humanity into communications.
13
37000
3000
ugrađujući ljudskost u komunikacije.
00:55
I've been simplifying things for 30 years.
14
40000
3000
Pojednostavljujem stvari već 30 godina.
00:58
I come out of the advertising and design business.
15
43000
3000
Dolazim iz oglašivačke i dizajnerske branše.
01:01
My focus is understanding you people,
16
46000
4000
Moj fokus je u razumijevanju vas ljudi,
01:05
and how you interact with the government
17
50000
2000
i kako vi međusobno djelujete s vladom
01:07
to get your benefits,
18
52000
2000
kako bi dobili svoje koristi,
01:09
how you interact with corporations to decide whom you're going to do business with,
19
54000
3000
kako međusobno djelujete s korporacijama da bi odlučili s kime poslovati,
01:12
and how you view brands.
20
57000
3000
i kako gledate na robne marke.
01:15
So, very quickly, when President Obama said,
21
60000
4000
Dakle, ukratko, kada je Predsjednik Obama izjavio,
01:19
"I don't see why we can't
22
64000
2000
"Ne vidim zašto ne možemo
01:21
have a one-page, plain English consumer credit agreement."
23
66000
4000
imati ugovor o potrošačkom kreditu na jednoj stranici napisan jasnim engleskim."
01:25
So, I locked myself in a room,
24
70000
2000
Tako sam se zaključao u sobu,
01:27
figured out the content,
25
72000
3000
osmislio sadržaj,
01:30
organized the document, and wrote it in plain English.
26
75000
3000
posložio dokument i napisao ga na jednostavnom engleskom.
01:33
I've had this checked by the two top
27
78000
2000
Dao sam to na provjeru dvjema najboljim
01:35
consumer credit lawyers in the country.
28
80000
2000
odvjetnicima za potrošačke kredite u zemlji.
01:37
This is a real thing.
29
82000
2000
To je stvarna stvar.
01:39
Now, I went one step further and said,
30
84000
3000
Otišao sam i korak dalje te rekao,
01:42
"Why do we have to stick with the stodgy lawyers
31
87000
2000
"Zašto se moramo držati tradicionalnih odvjetnika
01:44
and just have a paper document? Let's go online."
32
89000
4000
i imati samo papirnate dokumente? Hajdemo na Internet."
01:48
And many people
33
93000
2000
I neki ljudi
01:50
might need help in computation.
34
95000
2000
možda trebaju pomoć oko računanja.
01:52
Working with the Harvard Business School,
35
97000
2000
Surađujući sa Poslovnom školom na Harvardu,
01:54
you'll see this example when you talk about minimum payment:
36
99000
4000
uočit ćete taj primjer kada pričate o minimalnim uplatama.
01:58
If you spent 62 dollars for a meal,
37
103000
3000
Ukoliko potrošite 62 dolara za jelo,
02:01
the longer you take to pay out that loan,
38
106000
3000
što vam duže treba da otplatite taj zajam,
02:04
you see, over a period of time using the minimum payment
39
109000
2000
koristeći tijekom perioda minimalne uplate,
02:06
it's 99 dollars and 17 cents.
40
111000
3000
na kraju dolazimo do 99 dolara i 77 centi.
02:09
How about that? Do you think your bank is going to show that to people?
41
114000
3000
Što kažete na to? Mislite da će vaša banka to pokazati ljudima?
02:12
But it's going to work. It's more effective
42
117000
2000
Ali funkcionirat će. Djelotvornije je
02:14
than just computational aids.
43
119000
2000
nego sama pomoć oko računanja.
02:16
And what about terms like
44
121000
2000
A što je sa terminima kao
02:18
"over the limit"?
45
123000
3000
"prekoračenje limita"?
02:21
Perhaps a stealth thing.
46
126000
2000
Možda tajna stvar.
02:23
Define it in context. Tell people what it means.
47
128000
2000
Definirajte je u kontekstu. Recite ljudima što to znači.
02:25
When you put it in plain English,
48
130000
2000
Kada je stavite u razumljiv engleski,
02:27
you almost force the institution
49
132000
2000
skoro pa prisiljavate instituciju
02:29
to give the people a way, a default out of that,
50
134000
2000
da daje ljudima način da se izvuku od neplaćanja
02:31
and not put themselves at risk.
51
136000
2000
a da pritom ne stavljaju sebe pod nikakav rizik.
02:33
Plain English is about
52
138000
3000
Jasan engleski je o
02:36
changing the content.
53
141000
2000
mijenjanju sadržaja.
02:38
And one of the things I'm most proud of
54
143000
2000
I jedna od stvari na koju sam najviše ponosan
02:40
is this agreement for IBM.
55
145000
2000
jest ovaj sporazum s IBM-om.
02:42
It's a grid, it's a calendar.
56
147000
2000
To je mreža, to je kalendar.
02:44
At such and such a date, IBM has responsibilities,
57
149000
2000
Na taj i taj datum, IBM ima obveze,
02:46
you have responsibilities.
58
151000
2000
vi imate obveze.
02:48
Received very favorably by business.
59
153000
4000
S poslovne strane, jako je pozitivno prihvaćeno.
02:52
And there is some good news to report today.
60
157000
2000
I postoji neke dobre vijesti za objaviti danas.
02:54
Each year, one in 10 taxpayers
61
159000
2000
Svake godine, svaki deseti porezni obveznik
02:56
receives a notice from the IRS.
62
161000
2000
primi obavijest od Porezne službe.
02:58
There are 200 million letters that go out.
63
163000
3000
Postoji 200 milijuna pisama koja se šalju.
03:01
Running through this typical letter that they had,
64
166000
3000
Prolazeći kroz tipično pismo koje su imali,
03:04
I ran it through my simplicity lab,
65
169000
2000
proveo sam ga kroz moj laboratorij jednostavnosti,
03:06
it's pretty unintelligible.
66
171000
2000
i dosta je nerazumljivo.
03:08
All the parts of the document in red are not intelligible.
67
173000
4000
Svi dijelovi dokumenta koji su u crvenom su nerazumljivi.
03:12
We looked at doing over 1,000 letters that cover
68
177000
2000
Gledali smo kako bi prošli kroz 1000 pisama koje pokrivaju
03:14
70 percent of their transactions in plain English.
69
179000
3000
70 posto transakcija Porezne službe u jednostavnom engleskom.
03:17
They have been tested in the laboratory.
70
182000
2000
Testirali smo ih u laboratoriju.
03:19
When I run it through my lab,
71
184000
2000
Kada sam ih testirao u svom laboratoriju,
03:21
this heat-mapping shows everything
72
186000
2000
ova toplotna mapa prikazuje sve
03:23
is intelligible.
73
188000
2000
što je nerazumljivo.
03:25
And the IRS has introduced the program.
74
190000
2000
I Porezna služba je uvela program.
03:27
(Applause)
75
192000
5000
(Pljesak)
03:32
There are a couple of things going on right now
76
197000
3000
Postoji par stvari koje se sada događaju,
03:35
that I want to bring to your attention.
77
200000
2000
a na koje vam želim skrenuti pozornost.
03:37
There is a lot of discussion now
78
202000
2000
Sada se vodi velika diskusija
03:39
about a consumer financial protection agency,
79
204000
2000
o agenciji za financijsku zaštitu potrošača,
03:41
how to mandate simplicity.
80
206000
2000
i kako osigurati jednostavnost.
03:43
We see all this complexity.
81
208000
2000
Vidimo svu tu kompleksnost.
03:45
It's incumbent upon us,
82
210000
2000
Čini obvezujućim i nas,
03:47
and this organization, I believe,
83
212000
2000
i ovu organizaciju, vjerujem,
03:49
to make clarity, transparency
84
214000
3000
da postavimo jasnoću, transparentnost,
03:52
and empathy a national priority.
85
217000
3000
i empatiju nacionalnim prioritetom.
03:55
There is no way that we should allow government
86
220000
2000
Ne bi smjeli dopustiti vladi
03:57
to communicate the way they communicate.
87
222000
2000
da komunicira na način na koji komunicira.
03:59
There is no way we should do business
88
224000
2000
Ne bi smjeli poslovati
04:01
with companies that have agreements
89
226000
3000
s poduzećima koja imaju ugovore
04:04
with stealth provisions and that are unintelligible.
90
229000
2000
s tajnim, nerazumljivim klauzulama.
04:06
So, how are we going to change the world?
91
231000
2000
Dakle, kako ćemo promijeniti svijet?
04:08
Make clarity, transparency and simplicity a national priority.
92
233000
5000
Postaviti jasnoću, transparentnost i jednostavnost nacionalnim prioritetom.
04:13
I thank you.
93
238000
2000
Zahvaljujem vam.
04:15
(Applause)
94
240000
5000
(Pljesak)
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Alan Siegel - Executive, simplicity guruA branding expert and one of the leading authorities on business communication, Alan Siegel wants to put plain English into legal documents for government and business.
Why you should listen
Almost nothing so mundane renders as many beads of sweat on the foreheads of the citizens of the United States than the looming of April 15, the day of the dreaded yearly income tax mail-ins. But Alan Siegel says the better portion of that anxiety ain't necessarily the pay hit -- it's navigating the legendarily confusing jungle of jargon (and cluttered checkboxes) that constitutes the IRS's tax forms. It's more than a question of convenience to individuals, he emphasizes; as our society's systems get more complicated, the perplexing legal documents that make them run are becoming more of a drain, undermining our potential prosperity.
It's also a problem that's bigger than taxes; it's even bigger than the United States. Siegel, one of the world's foremost branding experts (he's founder and chairman of brand consultancy Siegel+Gale) notes that the world is suffering from an epidemic of legalese: fear of loopholes and lawsuits is forcing the world's attorneys, contract designers and EULA scribes to take their art form to historically impenetrable lows.
Better for us, Siegel has spent decades as a pioneer in the practice of simplification -- as he says, "bringing clarity to such daunting documents as insurance policies, bank loans, mutual fund agreements" and government communications. He hopes to transform the idea of document simplicity from a creative principle into an aggressive movement for change.
Siegel was recently director of a project for the IRS to simplify US income tax forms. He has written on the topic for the New York Times, Across the Board, and the National Law Journal.
Alan Siegel | Speaker | TED.com