While English is increasingly becoming a world language, not everyone speaks it the same way. Companies (and ministries) that wish to reach a global audience using English are learning to craft their communication in a way that keeps that in mind.

In late May of 2017, Tom Castor of Clear and Simple Media was asked to help one organization learn the principles necessary to do that. T-Net International is an international Christian training organization whose mission is: “To coach pastors and church leaders to finish the Great Commission in their own congregations, their own regions, and in every country of the world.” On June 22 and 23, those meetings took place. For two days, five of the T-Net executive staff met in Minneapolis to think through their more than 3,000 pages of primary curriculum and discuss how the concept of Controlled Language and principles of writing for a global audience might help them achieve their goals.

The two days were primarily filled with guided conversation, along with teaching, dialogue, and some “hands-on” excercises. At the end of the time together, T-Net had a better understanding of the concepts of writing for a global audience, the beginnings of a Style Guide, a set of editorial goals, and an editorial calendar of how those edits can be managably implemented.

From the CSM viewpoint, it was an exceptionally profitable time. And for T-Net? Here is an excerpt from the letter CSM received from the leadership team soon after the sessions were completed.

Tom,

Thank you for meeting with our T-Net International leaders and training us in how to update our English curriculum into a Global English so that we can better communicate our content to the thousands of pastors attending our African and Asian training centers.

We appreciate your generous coaching and consulting. We are confident that your suggested changes will help us become much more effective in training pastors who have English as a second language. We also believe our translations will be more accurate and effective in the future because of the updates we will write as a result of your help.

From all of our team, thank you.

David Durey                                                                                                        Dean of T-Net Training Centers