TED2010
Alan Siegel: Let's simplify legal jargon!
艾倫席格：法律術語親民化！
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艾倫席格指出，稅單、信用卡合約、健保條款...盡是冗長費解的官樣文章，他發起化繁為簡、淺顯易懂改革運動，一切回歸簡明用語，為大眾提供一目了然的法律文件。
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,
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總而言之，有些領袖公僕
00:18
public officials who are out of control;
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政府官員做事不按章法
00:21
they are writing bills that are unintelligible,
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他們撰寫的立法條款難懂
00:23
and out of these bills are going to come
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而這些成堆的法案日後
00:25
maybe 40,000 pages of regulations, total complexity,
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衍生為厚達4萬多頁的法規，複雜難懂致極
00:30
which has a dramatically negative impact on our life.
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儼然對我們的生活造成極大的負面影響
00:33
If you're a veteran coming back from Iraq or Vietnam
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如果您是自伊拉克或越南返家的退伍軍人
00:37
you face a blizzard of paperwork to get your benefits;
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得填寫教人暈頭轉向的書面文件才能領福利救助金
00:41
if you're trying to get a small business loan,
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如果要申請創業貸款
00:43
you face a blizzard of paperwork.
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先得與滿坑滿谷的申請表奮戰
00:45
What are we going to do about it? I define simplicity
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我們究竟該怎麼辦？「化繁為簡」
00:47
as a means to achieving clarity,
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是實踐明確
00:50
transparency and empathy,
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一目了然、建立共識的依歸
00:52
building humanity into communications.
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同時在溝通中顧念你我的需要
00:55
I've been simplifying things for 30 years.
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30年來，我不斷在化繁為簡
00:58
I come out of the advertising and design business.
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我從事廣告設計
01:01
My focus is understanding you people,
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我在乎的是瞭解各位的想法
01:05
and how you interact with the government
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看重各位要如何與政府打交道
01:07
to get your benefits,
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才能為自己爭取福利
01:09
how you interact with corporations to decide whom you're going to do business with,
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要與企業如何交手來決定你的對口
01:12
and how you view brands.
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還有，你怎麼看待自己的品牌
01:15
So, very quickly, when President Obama said,
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當歐巴馬總統也表示：
01:19
"I don't see why we can't
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我看不出來準備一份
01:21
have a one-page, plain English consumer credit agreement."
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篇幅一頁淺顯易懂的信貸合約有什麼難！
01:25
So, I locked myself in a room,
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所以我決定閉關
01:27
figured out the content,
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構思內容
01:30
organized the document, and wrote it in plain English.
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設計文件架構，再以簡單常用的語彙撰寫
01:33
I've had this checked by the two top
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這份文件已經由國內兩位頂尖的
01:35
consumer credit lawyers in the country.
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消費者信貸律師校閱
01:37
This is a real thing.
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一點也不假
01:39
Now, I went one step further and said,
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現在我要更進一步地質疑：
01:42
"Why do we have to stick with the stodgy lawyers
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我們非得聽命於這些古板的律師嗎？
01:44
and just have a paper document? Let's go online."
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拿份書面文件、就說線上處理吧？
01:48
And many people
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許多人可能
01:50
might need help in computation.
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數學不太靈光
01:52
Working with the Harvard Business School,
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若與哈佛商業學院合作
01:54
you'll see this example when you talk about minimum payment:
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各位就會清楚什麼是最低付款金額
01:58
If you spent 62 dollars for a meal,
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如果你一餐要花62元
02:01
the longer you take to pay out that loan,
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就得花愈長的時間才能償清貸款
02:04
you see, over a period of time using the minimum payment
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明白嗎？長久以來都是使用最低付款金額
02:06
it's 99 dollars and 17 cents.
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最後要付99元又17角
02:09
How about that? Do you think your bank is going to show that to people?
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這能接受嗎？你認為銀行會公開實情嗎？
02:12
But it's going to work. It's more effective
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但這仍然行得通，因為成效更佳
02:14
than just computational aids.
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省去計算的麻煩
02:16
And what about terms like
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再來看看這個詞
02:18
"over the limit"?
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超過信用額度？
02:21
Perhaps a stealth thing.
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這也許更微妙
02:23
Define it in context. Tell people what it means.
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若以前後文來定義，告訴大家這什麼意思
02:25
When you put it in plain English,
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如果我們說白話文
02:27
you almost force the institution
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等於是強迫銀行
02:29
to give the people a way, a default out of that,
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讓民眾有規避的後路
02:31
and not put themselves at risk.
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不讓自己陷入風險
02:33
Plain English is about
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所謂的白話文就是
02:36
changing the content.
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修改內容
02:38
And one of the things I'm most proud of
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我最自豪的一項成就
02:40
is this agreement for IBM.
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就是IBM的合約
02:42
It's a grid, it's a calendar.
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這是一份表格、也是行事曆
02:44
At such and such a date, IBM has responsibilities,
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在這些日子裡，IBM有必須履行的義務
02:46
you have responsibilities.
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你也有你的職責
02:48
Received very favorably by business.
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業界欣然接受這種作法
02:52
And there is some good news to report today.
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今天還有好消息與各位分享
02:54
Each year, one in 10 taxpayers
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每年每十個納稅人有一位
02:56
receives a notice from the IRS.
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會收到國稅局的通知
02:58
There are 200 million letters that go out.
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而全國有2億封這樣的信函
03:01
Running through this typical letter that they had,
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我們處理了這類典型的書信
03:04
I ran it through my simplicity lab,
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就在我的化繁為簡實驗室
03:06
it's pretty unintelligible.
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只覺得艱澀難懂
03:08
All the parts of the document in red are not intelligible.
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紅色標示的內容讓人摸不著頭緒
03:12
We looked at doing over 1,000 letters that cover
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又看了1千多封以一般用語撰寫的信
03:14
70 percent of their transactions in plain English.
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這些佔了70%的業務
03:17
They have been tested in the laboratory.
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然後在實驗室中進行測試
03:19
When I run it through my lab,
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實驗後的結果
03:21
this heat-mapping shows everything
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熱點圖指示每封信
03:23
is intelligible.
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都淺顯易懂
03:25
And the IRS has introduced the program.
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現在國稅局已採用這項作法
03:27
(Applause)
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(觀眾掌聲)
03:32
There are a couple of things going on right now
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目前有一些議題
03:35
that I want to bring to your attention.
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希望各位能夠關注
03:37
There is a lot of discussion now
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各界都在熱烈討論
03:39
about a consumer financial protection agency,
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消費者金融保護局的相關問題
03:41
how to mandate simplicity.
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如何實行化繁為簡原則
03:43
We see all this complexity.
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這些文字艱澀拗口
03:45
It's incumbent upon us,
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因此我相信我們和這個組織
03:47
and this organization, I believe,
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有義不容辭的責任
03:49
to make clarity, transparency
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讓貫徹明確、一目了然、共識的原則
03:52
and empathy a national priority.
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成為全國的優先任務
03:55
There is no way that we should allow government
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我們決不能姑息政府
03:57
to communicate the way they communicate.
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再以他們慣用的手段與民眾溝通
03:59
There is no way we should do business
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不能再縱容企業
04:01
with companies that have agreements
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盡以言辭隱晦不明的條款
04:04
with stealth provisions and that are unintelligible.
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與我們簽訂業務契約
04:06
So, how are we going to change the world?
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如何為世界開闢新局呢？
04:08
Make clarity, transparency and simplicity a national priority.
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就奉明確、淺顯易懂、化繁為簡為歸臬吧！
04:13
I thank you.
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謝謝各位！
04:15
(Applause)
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(觀眾掌聲)
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