Janice (Ginny) Redish - Content as Conversation: Writing for the Web

Content as Conversation: Writing for the Web

Janice (Ginny) Redish, Ph.D.

Redish & Associates, Inc.

Bethesda, Maryland

301−229−3039

ginny@redish.net

www.redish.net

@GinnyRedish

Topics for this morning

Setting the context

Planning the conversation

Getting people to what they need

Writing the conversation

Assuring successful conversations

Setting the context

You use web sites that others have developed.

When did you last go to the web?

Why did you go to the web?

What were you trying to do or what were you looking for?

Share your story

Flickr cc photo by theworldcafe

Share your story with your neighbor.

What do people want from web sites?

To satisfy their goals

Content

Information

To do a task

People just want to

answer their question

do a task

solve a problem

engage in a social conversation

Navigation and search are critical

Good, clear design is critical

Technology that works is critical

But they all support the content

Every use of every web site is a conversation started by the site visitor

How well does your site converse with your site visitors?

Planning the conversation

Plan before you write

Think first. Write second.

Why? (your purposes)

Who? (your site visitors)

When, why, and how?(your site visitors' conversations)

Why? (Your purposes)

Be measurable.

Be specific.

Focus on your site visitors.

Be specific

http://www.manageyourwriting.com/

Kenneth W. Davis

Focus on your site visitors

to inform people about …

answer people's questions about …

to give instructions for the … form

our very busy, anxious, worried site visitorsto give us the information we need correctlyso we can serve them better

We want

I wish they would remember how crazy my life is! I don't have time!

Name each major group of site visitors.

Add adjectives or phrases that describe them.

time constraints(busy? multi-tasking?)

attitudes (stressed? frustrated?)

subject matter knowledge

primary language

reading ability

computer and web experience

Who? (Your site visitors)

Create personas to write to

Persona =

a fictional person who realistically represents a major groupof site visitors

not a specific actual site visitor

a composite based on data about demographics goals and tasks contexts of use (environments) values

Picture

Personal information

Values

Typical tasks

Characteristics

Persona of an older adult as a web user

From AARP,Redish, 2007

When, why, and how?(your site visitor's conversation)

Story, scenario, context, situation, conversation

Visualize the persona coming to your site.

Flickr cc photo by Mr.Thomas© iStockphoto

Getting people to what they need

What does a home page have to do?

http://www.tricare.mil/

Imagine the conversation as you design.

American Consumer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) scores went up about 20 points.

Flickr cc photo by pedrosimeos7

What should I be aware of when I shop for insurance?

Secret of successful pathway pages:Writing for the "scent of information"

People don't want to read more than necessarywhile "getting there."

What must a pathway page do?

X Long welcome statement

Just clear links in a usable format!

X Long mission statement

http://www.insurance.wa.gov

Writing the conversation

Flickr cc photo by Polandeze

Don't hog theconversation.Take turns.Headings are the site visitor's turns in the conversation.

Headings help by breaking up the information making the information manageable creating visual separation on the web page drawing the eyes providing context so people can make sense

of what follows

Writing headings first helps authors analyze the information organize for the reader

Include informative headings

Key words in browser titles,

page titles, and headings help SEO.

Questions

Statements (key messages)

Does my child need a Social Security number?

Action phrases

Nouns and noun phrases work as category names

but not well for headings

What types of headings work well?

Apply now

Renewing your insurance

Minimum Wage, News

x Introduction

x Dependent Eligibility Verification

The age for getting your Social Security payments is going up

Nielsen and Pernice, 2010

How do people use web pages?

Skim and scan

Read only what they need, when and where they think they are getting value

Grab information to meet their goal

Start with the key message

Typical document

(narrative style)

topic, history, background, rationale

narrative of what you did

main point as conclusion

Better workplace document

(style for busy people;

inverted pyramid)

key message first

answers to questions peoplewould have (even if you don't write question headings)

Layer. Think "bite, snack, meal"

Snack: the main fruit

Bite: the kernel

Meal: the whole thing- meat and potatoes

Concept from Leslie O'Flahavan www.ewriteonline.com

Even the whole meal should be easy to digest.

www.cdc.gov

Start with the key message at every level

Where is the key message in this sentence?

Because of the frequency of the disease, ability to identify high-risk groups, demonstrated slow growth of primary lesions, better survival of patients with early-stage lesions, and relative simplicity and accuracy of screening tests, screening for colon cancer should be a part of routine care for all adults aged 50 years or older, especially for those with first-degree relatives with colorectal cancer.

Write as you would speak

✔✗

The student must register and the fee payment process must be started before the first day of classes or the student will be purged from classes.

You must register and arrange to pay for your classes before the first day of class. If you don't, we will drop you from the classes.

Write to your readers

Approved fumigation with methyl bromide at normal atmospheric pressure, in accordance with the following procedure, upon arrival at the port of entry, is hereby prescribed as a condition of importation for shipments of yams from foreign countries.

How would you say this information in a conversation?

Did you say something like this?

If you are importing yams, [someone] must fumigate them when they arrive at the port of entry.

To fumigate yams, [someone] must use this procedure:

Hear the conversation as you write

context = given, known

then new

What's wrong with this sentence?

Interested persons, on or before October 15,

2011, may submit to the Hearing Clerk, 1000

Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC

20000, written comments regarding this

proposal.

Is this better?

Can you hear the conversation going on here?

Walk in your reader'sshoes.

Go through yourwriting with a personaand that persona'sscenario.

Keep it short

Your seventh-grade English teacher never wrote for the web.

People scan. A one-sentence paragraph is fine.

Think information, not paragraph.

fragments pictures

lists links

tables

Respect your readers' timeUse short, plain English words We all read simple, common words faster

than long, uncommon words.

People inside an organization overestimate the vocabulary knowledge of people outside the organization by about 30 percent.

"dumbing down"✗

✔ respecting your busy readers' time

Helping low-literacy users helps everyone

Summers, K. and Summers, M., 2005, Reading and Navigational Strategies of Web Users with Lower Literacy Skills, ASSIST 2005, available from http://iat.ubalt.edu/summers/

Finding the simple word

your pet peeve of a big word

and a shorter, simpler equivalent

retain ___________

Instead of Try this

ascertain ___________

commence ___________

inquire ___________

Instead of Try this

terminate ___________

utilize ___________

Instead of Try this

at this point in time ___________

during the course of this year ___________

Use other plain language guidelines

Write in the active voice (most of the time)

Turn nouns that hide verbs into strong verbs.(retention keep; requirement you must)

Use bulleted lists for items.

Use numbered lists for instructions.

Use tables when the answer to the question is "it depends."

Assuring successful conversations

Read before you send or post

Read what you wrote.

Put your draft in a drawer for a few days.

Take it out and read it again.

Read it out loud.

Ask someone else to read it out loud.

Share with colleagues.

Help each other.

Do not rely on readability formulas

Plain language is much more than short sentences and short words.

Formulas do not consider information design headings cultural appropriateness context grammar

A web page with lists and fragments− good writing − may score poorly.

I wave my hand.

I waive my rights.

Do usability testing!

Usability testing = Watch and listen as relevant people (one at a time) use the site to do realistic tasks.

www.usability.gov

This is really confusing. What am I supposed to do?

Flickr cc photo by Moonpir

Evaluate through your personasand their conversations

Walk your personas through their conversations.

See the site through their eyes with their words.

Ginny Redish

ginny@redish.net

301 229 3039

Thank you

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