English is the world’s lingua franca for business, technology, and science. But for the vast majority of people who use it, English is a second or third language. If you write as though every reader is a native speaker with full cultural knowledge of the United States or the United Kingdom, you are excluding a massive portion of your audience.
Writing for an international audience is not about simplifying your ideas. It is about removing unnecessary barriers to understanding. This article provides practical strategies for making your writing accessible to readers from all language backgrounds.
Avoiding Idioms and Cultural References
Idioms are phrases whose meaning cannot be deduced from the individual words. They are deeply tied to a specific culture and often make no sense when translated literally. For a non-native reader, idioms are confusing at best and incomprehensible at worst.
Common Idioms to Avoid
| Idiom | What It Means | Clear Alternative |
|---|---|---|
| It is a piece of cake | It is very easy | It is very easy |
| Hit the ground running | Start immediately with full speed | Start working effectively right away |
| Ballpark figure | A rough estimate | An approximate number or estimate |
| Bite the bullet | Face something unpleasant | Accept a difficult situation |
| Let the cat out of the bag | Reveal a secret | Share information that was meant to be secret |
| Think outside the box | Think creatively | Think of new and creative ideas |
| Once in a blue moon | Very rarely | Very rarely or almost never |
| The ball is in your court | It is your turn to act | It is your turn to decide or act |
Cultural references can be even more exclusionary. Referring to American sports, TV shows, historical events, or pop culture assumes shared knowledge that your reader likely does not have. When in doubt, leave it out.
Simple Sentence Structures
Non-native readers process sentences differently from native readers. Complex sentence structures with multiple clauses, nested ideas, and long interruptions between subject and verb create cognitive overload.
Principles for Simpler Sentences
- Keep sentences under 15–18 words. This is shorter than what a native speaker can handle, but it dramatically improves comprehension for non-native readers.
- Use subject-verb-object order. “The team completed the project” is clearer than “The project was completed by the team.” Active voice is almost always easier to parse.
- Avoid long modifiers before nouns. Instead of “the rapidly growing, customer-focused software company,” write “the software company that is growing quickly and focused on customers.”
- Place conditionals at the end. Instead of “If you have questions, please contact us,” which requires the reader to hold the condition in memory, consider: “Please contact us if you have questions.”
Example: Before and After
Before (complex):
“Should you encounter any issues during the installation process, which typically takes between five and ten minutes depending on your internet connection speed, please do not hesitate to get in touch with our technical support team, who are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”
After (simplified):
“Installation takes 5 to 10 minutes. It depends on your internet speed. If you have any problems, contact our technical support team. They are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.”
The simplified version is easier for any reader, but especially for non-native speakers. Each sentence contains one idea, and the vocabulary is straightforward.
Vocabulary Choices for Non-Native Readers
Some English words are more globally accessible than others. Words derived from Latin or French roots are often more recognisable to speakers of Romance languages, while Germanic-root words may be more familiar to speakers of Germanic languages. But the safest approach is to choose the most common, widely understood word.
Preferred Vocabulary Choices
| Less Accessible | More Accessible |
|---|---|
| Utilise | Use |
| Commence | Begin or start |
| Terminate | End or stop |
| Sufficient | Enough |
| Subsequent | Next or later |
| Demonstrate | Show |
| Facilitate | Help or make easier |
| Additionally | Also or in addition |
This is not about avoiding all sophisticated vocabulary. It is about choosing the simplest word that conveys your meaning accurately. If “use” works, use it. If “utilise” adds no extra meaning, skip it.
Readability Considerations
The same readability principles that help native readers also help non-native readers, but the thresholds are different. A Flesch Reading Ease score of 60 is good for a general native audience, but targeting a score of 70 or higher is better for international readers.
International Readability Targets
- Flesch score: Target 70–85 for international audiences.
- Average sentence length: Aim for 12–15 words.
- Average syllables per word: Keep below 1.5.
- Passive voice: Use sparingly — ideally in fewer than 10% of sentences.
If you are writing documentation, instructions, or informational content for a global audience, aim for these tighter targets. The CopyRefine Readability Score tool can help you check where your writing stands.
Examples of Hard-to-Translate vs. Clear Phrases
To see the difference, compare these pairs of phrases. The first is opaque to many non-native readers. The second communicates the same idea clearly.
Hard-to-Translate vs. Clear
| Hard to Translate | Clear Alternative |
|---|---|
| We need to get our ducks in a row. | We need to get organised before we proceed. |
| This project is on the back burner. | This project is not a priority right now. |
| Let’s touch base next week. | Let us talk again next week. |
| We are in the same boat. | We are in the same situation. |
| That is a hard sell. | That will be difficult to convince people of. |
| We need to circle back on this. | We need to discuss this again later. |
| This is a no-brainer. | This is an obvious decision. |
| He is a loose cannon. | He acts unpredictably and causes problems. |
The pattern is clear: replace figurative language with literal language. When you use a phrase that creates a mental image in English (ducks in a row, back burner, same boat), you are using culture-specific imagery that may not exist or may mean something different in another culture.
Final Tips for Global Writing
- Test your writing with non-native readers. If possible, ask someone who learned English as a second language to read your work and flag anything confusing.
- Use consistent terminology. Do not switch between synonyms for the same concept. If you call it a “form,” keep calling it a “form” throughout.
- Be explicit about pronouns and referents. “The system checks the file. Then it sends a confirmation” is clear. “After checking, it is sent” is ambiguous.
- Write for translation. If your content might be machine-translated, clear and simple source text produces better translations.
- Use the Tone Detector. The CopyRefine Tone Detector can help you check whether your language is appropriately neutral for an international audience.
Writing for an international audience is a skill that improves with practice. Every time you choose clarity over cleverness, you expand your readership and make your message more inclusive. That is a win for everyone.