JASPER gave me the confidence to communicate simply
Department of Health and Social Care programme manager Karen Horrocks says the JASPER course reinforced her belief in the value of straightforward language.
Karen Horrocks, Department of Health and Social Care
When Karen Horrocks joined the Civil Service after a career in local government and the NHS, she was initially bewildered by the way some of her colleagues communicated.
“The way some of them spoke and wrote made me feel a bit excluded,” she said.
“Their language was peppered with acronyms and specialist phrases and I never knew whether to query them or to furiously ‘google’ them afterwards.
“It made me feel uneasy and at a disadvantage. I wondered if I should be speaking and writing that way too.”
Foundations of writing in government
This uncertainty was one reason Karen, a public health expert based in Leeds, opted to do the Foundations of Writing in Government (JASPER) course.
JASPER is one of Government Campus’ most highly rated courses. It is free on Civil Service Learning and comprises four hours of bite-size learning that can be done at the learner’s own pace.
Sensible communications
“The course reiterated the sensible communications skills I had learnt in previous roles and gave me confidence to write using short sentences and simple language,” she said.
“My colleagues and I frequently discuss how certain words and phrases mean very little to those outside a specific ‘bubble’. For example, I’m not sure how many people truly understand a jargon phrase like ‘socialising policy’.
“What JASPER gave me was the confidence to choose simpler language over specialist jargon. It teaches you the essential skills for communicating effectively and with impact and is a course I recommend.”