TED2010
Alan Siegel: Let's simplify legal jargon!
アランシーグル「法律用語を明解に」
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税申請書、融資同意文書、保険の登録用紙、どの文書も難解な単語を羅列した長文ばかりだと指摘するのはアラン・シーグル。明解簡潔な表現に置き換えて、誰にでもわかりやすい法律文書のありかたを提唱する。
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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まず 指導者や高官は
00:18
public officials who are out of control;
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往々に 理解不可能な
00:21
they are writing bills that are unintelligible,
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文書を書きます
00:23
and out of these bills are going to come
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そして その様な文章は
00:25
maybe 40,000 pages of regulations, total complexity,
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複雑すぎて 4万ページもの規定は
00:30
which has a dramatically negative impact on our life.
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苦痛以外の何でもありません
00:33
If you're a veteran coming back from Iraq or Vietnam
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イラクやベトナムの退役軍人には 補助金申請に
00:37
you face a blizzard of paperwork to get your benefits;
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ペーパーワークの山が待っています
00:41
if you're trying to get a small business loan,
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商業ローンを組もうとすれば
00:43
you face a blizzard of paperwork.
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文書業務が襲ってきます
00:45
What are we going to do about it? I define simplicity
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どうにかできないものか？
00:47
as a means to achieving clarity,
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「単純さ」とは 明確で透明性があり
00:50
transparency and empathy,
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共感できるもので
00:52
building humanity into communications.
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人間的なコミュニケーションを可能にします
00:55
I've been simplifying things for 30 years.
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私は 30年間 文章を「単純」にしてきました
00:58
I come out of the advertising and design business.
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広告とデザインビジネスの出身者として
01:01
My focus is understanding you people,
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私の興味は 人間を理解すること
01:05
and how you interact with the government
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それは 補助金申請のための
01:07
to get your benefits,
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役所との関わり方だったり
01:09
how you interact with corporations to decide whom you're going to do business with,
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ビジネス関係を作り上げるための 企業との関わり方
01:12
and how you view brands.
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ブランド作りも一つです
01:15
So, very quickly, when President Obama said,
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オバマ大統領が「なぜ
01:19
"I don't see why we can't
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クレジットカードの契約書は
01:21
have a one-page, plain English consumer credit agreement."
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簡単な英語にならないのか」とおっしゃれば
01:25
So, I locked myself in a room,
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私は部屋に閉じこもり
01:27
figured out the content,
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内容を把握し 書類をまとめ
01:30
organized the document, and wrote it in plain English.
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簡単な英語で書き直しました
01:33
I've had this checked by the two top
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この添削を国内有数の
01:35
consumer credit lawyers in the country.
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消費者金融専門の弁護士に依頼しました
01:37
This is a real thing.
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これが実物です
01:39
Now, I went one step further and said,
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そこで私は一歩踏み込んでこう言いました
01:42
"Why do we have to stick with the stodgy lawyers
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「なぜ形式ばかりの弁護士と紙面に
01:44
and just have a paper document? Let's go online."
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こだわらなくてはいけないのか？コンピューターを使おう」
01:48
And many people
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人によっては
01:50
might need help in computation.
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計算を苦手とするでしょう
01:52
Working with the Harvard Business School,
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そこで ハーバードビジネススクールと協力して
01:54
you'll see this example when you talk about minimum payment:
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最少支払額の説明をこうしました
01:58
If you spent 62 dollars for a meal,
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例えば 食事に62ドルを費やし
02:01
the longer you take to pay out that loan,
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支払いが遅れるほど
02:04
you see, over a period of time using the minimum payment
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最少支払額は増加し
02:06
it's 99 dollars and 17 cents.
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99ドル17セントになります
02:09
How about that? Do you think your bank is going to show that to people?
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どうですか？銀行はこんな説明をしてくれるでしょうか？
02:12
But it's going to work. It's more effective
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単なる計算機より
02:14
than just computational aids.
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ずっとわかりやすく 効果的です
02:16
And what about terms like
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それから「期限切れ」という
02:18
"over the limit"?
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用語はどうでしょう？
02:21
Perhaps a stealth thing.
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おそらく わかりにくい
02:23
Define it in context. Tell people what it means.
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文脈で判断するしかありません
02:25
When you put it in plain English,
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これらを単純な英単語で置き換えることで
02:27
you almost force the institution
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自らのリスクを避ける道
02:29
to give the people a way, a default out of that,
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その妥協案を
02:31
and not put themselves at risk.
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強要することができます
02:33
Plain English is about
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単純な英語は
02:36
changing the content.
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内容を変更するということです
02:38
And one of the things I'm most proud of
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私が最も誇りに思うのは
02:40
is this agreement for IBM.
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IBMとのこの合意書です
02:42
It's a grid, it's a calendar.
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カレンダーです
02:44
At such and such a date, IBM has responsibilities,
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この日は IBMの責任
02:46
you have responsibilities.
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別の日は あなたの責任
02:48
Received very favorably by business.
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ビジネスでとても重宝されています
02:52
And there is some good news to report today.
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今日 ぜひお伝えしたいことがあります
02:54
Each year, one in 10 taxpayers
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毎年納税者の10人に1人が
02:56
receives a notice from the IRS.
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米国国税局から通達を受けとります
02:58
There are 200 million letters that go out.
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全部で 2億通にものぼります
03:01
Running through this typical letter that they had,
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このような通達を
03:04
I ran it through my simplicity lab,
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「単純」に 目を通してみると
03:06
it's pretty unintelligible.
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理解に苦しむ内容でした
03:08
All the parts of the document in red are not intelligible.
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赤いマークが全て 難解な箇所です
03:12
We looked at doing over 1,000 letters that cover
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のべ1000通以上 国税局の取引の70％
03:14
70 percent of their transactions in plain English.
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に及ぶ文章を 「単純」化を試み
03:17
They have been tested in the laboratory.
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研究所で挑戦してきました
03:19
When I run it through my lab,
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私が目を通した結果
03:21
this heat-mapping shows everything
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ご覧の通り赤い箇所は
03:23
is intelligible.
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激減しました
03:25
And the IRS has introduced the program.
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今では国税局はこちらを採用しています
03:27
(Applause)
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（拍手）
03:32
There are a couple of things going on right now
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そこで 皆さんに注目していただきたい
03:35
that I want to bring to your attention.
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取り組みが進められています
03:37
There is a lot of discussion now
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消費者金融保護庁と
03:39
about a consumer financial protection agency,
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どのように「単純さ」を義務付けるか
03:41
how to mandate simplicity.
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議論が多く交わされています
03:43
We see all this complexity.
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ご覧のとおり複雑すぎます
03:45
It's incumbent upon us,
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明瞭性 透明性 共感を
03:47
and this organization, I believe,
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国家の優先事項に
03:49
to make clarity, transparency
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することが私たちと
03:52
and empathy a national priority.
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この機関の使命なのです
03:55
There is no way that we should allow government
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政府のお役所的なスタイルを
03:57
to communicate the way they communicate.
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野放しにする必要はないのです
03:59
There is no way we should do business
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我々は理解不能な文書を
04:01
with companies that have agreements
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提示してくるような企業と
04:04
with stealth provisions and that are unintelligible.
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ビジネスをする必要はありません
04:06
So, how are we going to change the world?
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では どうやって変えていけるでしょう？
04:08
Make clarity, transparency and simplicity a national priority.
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明確さ 透明性 単純性です
04:13
I thank you.
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ありがとうございました
04:15
(Applause)
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（拍手）
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