Michelle Black, M.Ed
Plain language and clear design consultant, writer, editor,
trainer, communications project manager
President, SimplyRead
Communications Group
Experience summary
Samples for download
Posted on the Web
Experience summary
Michelle's 15 years of communications experience includes developing
the following types of information in both print and online formats:
Types of communications
- Communications strategies, project plans, proposals, reports, business cases
- RFP response documents, product sheets, advertising copy, brochures, marketing
and promotional materials, sales and call scripts, customer correspondence
- Research papers, consent forms, consumer health information, medical instructions, drug packaging
- Policy and procedure manuals, research grant guidelines and application forms, survey questionnaires
- Workshop materials, PowerPoint presentations and handouts, 'town hall' meeting materials, instruction
manuals, course materials, calls for proposals, conference programs and speaker notes
- Executive announcements, articles, Web and intranet copy, news releases
- Résumés, document templates, style guides
- Extensive experience with writing about health, social services, human resources, Property and Casualty (P&C)
insurance, technology and financial services
Areas of strength
- Plain language writing
- Clear document design
- Employee & executive communications
- Adult education & training
- Public health & health promotion
- Consumer information
- Marketing copy
- Web content
Samples for Download
You require Adobe Reader to access these documents. Download it directly from the Adobe site.
New name for team accentuates the positive (pdf format 321 kb)
This is an example of the hundreds of articles
Michelle developed for the Aviva Canada intranet,
to provide important corporate information,
celebrate company successes and profile team
members for 3000+ employees. In this instance,
she also facilitated a workshop with the employees
of this team, to help them decide on a new name
for the business unit.
Aviva Voca - Keeping it short (pdf format 276 kb)
This article was part of a larger education
program Michelle developed for employees of
Aviva Canada Inc., including a six-article series
and internal training workshops and lunch-and-learns,
to help employees communicate more clearly and
understand the clear, friendly voice of the
Aviva brand.
Foods to eat and avoid when you are taking Procarbazine (pdf format 2.3 mb)
This is an example of the more than 25 patient
education materials Michelle helped develop
for parents and patients, as an internal consultant
at The Hospital for Sick Children.
This booklet instructs parents on potential
interactions of the above drug with different
foods. Along with plain language writing, Michelle
commissioned the illustrations and supervised
the design and printing of the booklet.
Understanding Childhood Stroke (pdf format 2.5 mb)
This is another resource Michelle edited with
plain language. It is one of two booklets she
developed with the Neurology Unit, to help parents
of children who had strokes understand and prepare
for further tests and treatment.
For smokers who want to quit - Easy-to-read
version (pdf format 1.4 mb)
Michelle edited this 100-plus-page quit-smoking
resource, published by the Canadian Cancer Society,
to bring it from a Grade 10 to a Grade 7 reading
level. Part of a province-funded project, Michelle
conducted two field test group sessions and
presented at workshops for public health employees
across Ontario.
Posted on the Web
Ontario Health Promotion E-mail Bulletin #258.1
The 5 C's: Areas to consider for making
your health messages accessible to a wider population
Michelle wrote this article, which was later referenced
in further articles about health literacy within
the academic health promotion community.
Best Start website
Best Start Resource Centre
Michelle edited Web site copy and educational print material
for plain language, and presented recommendations
for clear Web design to Best Start employees.
GRC corporate website
Governance, Risk, Compliance (GRC) Inc.
Michelle wrote original copy for this website, to help expand knowledge and brand recognition for this business.
INTRIA corporate website
INTRIA Items Inc.
Michelle developed the
content for this CIBC subsidiary in consultation
with internal product and sales experts and the
company executive, developing key corporate messages
and creating new content for a redesigned Web
presence which more strongly represented INTRIA's
business and market differentiators.
Ontario Public Health Association brochure
How to Feed Your Growing Child
Michelle provided feedback and made recommendations to improve the ease-of-reading for this resource.
Plain Language Association International
PLAIN International
conference
Michelle co-chaired this biennial event for her
professional association, which included the proceedings
you can link to from the above page. The linked page also
takes you to a transcript of the
CBC radio program Michelle was guest
on to raise awareness of PLAIN and the need for clear communication.
Her leadership of the promotion team for this 2002 conference helped quadruple
both the association's membership numbers and conference attendance.
Contact Michelle
