"When I first heard Tyler Quillin, principal corporate counsel at Microsoft, say that he asks engineers to "explain it to me like I'm an eighth grader," I had to laugh. Not because it was funny, although the image of an Xbox hardware engineer breaking down technical specs like a middle school science project is objectively charming, but because I've been there."
"Tyler supports Xbox hardware devices and accessories, meaning his daily work involves translating between engineers, executives, and, increasingly, regulators. It is a role where technical complexity is the default. Instead of nodding along to words he doesn't fully understand, Tyler has learned to slow the conversation down deliberately. "Sometimes I'll ask them to say it again, slower, or explain it like I'm 10," he told me. "Then I'll work my way back until I can really grok it.""
"I have used a similar trick for years, but my go-to is eighth grade. The reason is simple. U.S. consumer protection rules often recommend that critical disclosures be written at about an eighth-grade reading level. When I tell engineers this, they stop seeing my request as a confession of ignorance and start seeing it as a shared goal: making our language work for the people who will actually use the product."
Principal corporate counsel for Xbox hardware asks engineers to explain technical concepts at an eighth-grade level and deliberately slows conversations to ensure understanding. U.S. consumer protection guidance recommends that critical disclosures target about an eighth-grade reading level. Using plain language reframes simplification as a shared goal and improves product usability. Contracts frequently require legal expertise to parse, creating usability and compliance risks. When customers, partners, or internal stakeholders cannot grasp contractual obligations, misunderstandings, delays, or breaches become more likely. Clearer language reduces regulatory disconnects and helps align engineers, executives, regulators, and users.
Read at Above the Law
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]