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

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:
&bull; Academic studies showing the effectiveness of visual contract elements
&bull; The picture superiority effect
&bull; Why easy to read is easy to like
&bull; Contract formatting tips
The SLAPP test: <a href="http://bit.ly/CLL_SLAPP">http://bit.ly/CLL_SLAPP</a>
&lt;&lt;&lt; Key Takeaways &gt;&gt;&gt;
Step 1 (Structure)- Is your contract structured like a Reverse Sandwich so it&rsquo;s useful &amp; 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 &amp; understand?
Step 5 (Pictures)- Do you use pictures, flowcharts, graphics, icons, tables &amp; other visuals to break up text?
&lt;&lt;&lt; Actionable Challenge &gt;&gt;&gt;
&lsquo;But I am simple in my communications!&rsquo; 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/ &amp; paste that text in. See what score you get&hellip; try re-writing &amp; simplifying if over grade 9.
&lt;&lt; LINKS &gt;&gt; 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, &lsquo;Plain to all: Using logic to distill complex thinking into clear documents&rsquo; (November 2016) Presentation at Clarity2016, Wellington NZ. ER Tufte, &lsquo;Envisioning Information&rsquo; (1990) www.edwardtufte.com/tufte/books_ei, accessed 10 June 2017. H Song &amp; 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&ndash;988. www.dornsife.usc.edu/assets/sites/780/docs/08_ps_song___schwarz_effort.pdf, accessed 10 June 2017. Visual contracting: H Haapio &amp; S Passaria, &lsquo;Improving Contract Clarity&rsquo; (31 July 2014) (an excellent webinar presentation with accompanying notes) &amp; H Haapio &amp; S Passaria, &lsquo;Visual Law: What Lawyers Need To Learn From Information Designers&rsquo; (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, &lsquo;Contract visualization - boost your brand &amp; bridge the language barrier&rsquo; (10 December 2014). www.iaccm.com/resources/?id=8255&amp;cb=1478262447, accessed 10 June 2017. DL Nelson, US Reed, &amp; JR Walling, &lsquo;Pictorial superiority effect&rsquo; (1976) Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning &amp; Memory, 2, 523-528. For a visual overview of the Picture Superiority Effect, see DigitalSplashMedia&rsquo;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) &lsquo;Measuring Readability, Part 1: The spirit is will but the Flesch is weak&rsquo;, www.abelard.com.au/readability%20statistics.pdf, &amp; &rsquo;Advantages &amp; disadvantages of readability formulas&rsquo;, NA Merola, &lsquo;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 &amp; K Lester, 'Words matter: increasing the implementation of clinical guidelines', (2005) Quality &amp; Safety in Health Care 14:367&ndash;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, &amp; templates. Music: 'Sway this way' by @SilentPartner

Legal Lightbulbs: Bright Ideas to Power Small Legal Teams is the podcast for in-house legal professionals who want to make a big impact with a small team. 

Your host Verity White is an award-winning lawyer, Accredited Specialist in Commercial Law, a legal transformation expert, and Legal Director at Checklist Legal. 

Verity is the lucky lawyer who gets to talk to some of the sharpest minds in the inhouse legal world and shine a light on the clever ways small legal teams inside beloved brands and global companies are transforming how they work. 

Legal Lightbulbs is your go-to source for practical strategies, inspiring stories, and actionable insights to help legal legends like you lighten your legal load, lead with confidence, and spark meaningful change. 

We'll have trailblazing guests who’ve scaled legal influence without scaling headcount and solo episodes direct from Verity’s brain with bite-sized, practical tips you can use today. 

Whether you’re a sole legal counsel juggling a million tasks or leading a lean team looking to level up, Legal Lightbulbs is here for you to spark ideas and (if it's not too lame to say) have a bit of fun along the way. 

🎙️ New episodes each fortnight

📥 Links, tools, & resources in every episode

Legal Lightbulbs: Bright Ideas to Power Small Legal Teams is the podcast for in-house legal professionals who want to make a big impact with a small team.&nbsp;
Your host Verity White is an award-winning lawyer, Accredited Specialist in Commercial Law, a legal transformation expert, and Legal Director at Checklist Legal.&nbsp;
Verity is the lucky lawyer who gets to talk to some of the sharpest minds in the inhouse legal world and shine a light on the clever ways small legal teams inside beloved brands and global companies are transforming how they work.&nbsp;
Legal Lightbulbs is your go-to source for practical strategies, inspiring stories, and actionable insights to help legal legends like you lighten your legal load, lead with confidence, and spark meaningful change.&nbsp;
We'll have trailblazing guests who&rsquo;ve scaled legal influence without scaling headcount and solo episodes direct from Verity&rsquo;s brain with bite-sized, practical tips you can use today.&nbsp;
Whether you&rsquo;re a sole legal counsel juggling a million tasks or leading a lean team looking to level up, Legal Lightbulbs is here for you to spark ideas and (if it's not too lame to say) have a bit of fun along the way.&nbsp;
🎙️ New episodes each fortnight
📥 Links, tools, &amp; resources in every episode

**Create contracts clients love**The Checklist …

Legal Lightbulbs

Mindset: FINE TUNE DOCUMENT PERFORMANCE

On this …