About Ian LeFae
Hi folks! My name is Ian LeFae. Let me tell you a bit about myself.
At Keep It Plain, I work on plain language projects with clients and provide project management support. Just like any small business owner, I have a wide range of responsibilities and skills. I built these through a career providing executive support in the non-profit and academic sectors. But it was my time working in health insurance sales that really changed my life.
Most people working in sales will tell you that it is a world unto itself. And no matter what I did to adapt, that world was not a good match for me. Bran finally convinced me to leave it behind and do what I really wanted to do – and that was work with horses. I started exploring natural horsemanship and worked at a couple of barns in the Seattle area. Eventually, we moved to a rural property so we could have our own horses.
You might wonder what horses have to do with a communications business. In a nutshell, everything! Natural horsemanship is all about communication. It requires the human to put their ego aside as much as possible to understand what the horse needs and what they’re communicating. It also means understanding the psychology of the horse and herd dynamics.
When helping people create clear communication, you must understand what your audience wants and needs. And to do this, you must understand your audience. It’s essential to put your ego aside and use words that your audience understands. Information needs to be packaged in a way that makes sense and doesn’t overwhelm the reader. Our horses remind us to stay clear and avoid overwhelming them every day.
I’m also an artist. I enjoy drawing and oil painting. And I enjoy creating graphics that can provide deeper meaning or additional information in a document.
I share Bran’s belief that all of us deserve clear communication when navigating healthcare, thinking about being in a research study, or trying to understand business information. As a team, we’re here to help you reach your audience with ease.