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Light(e)ning talk from STC Summit 2012: Taking the flab out of your content
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Light(e)ningTalkLarry Kunz
Systems Documentation Inc.
STC Summit – May 2012@larry_kunz
May 2012@larry_kunz
Flabby Content
Flabby Content
May 2012@larry_kunz
Is harder to keep current.
• There’s more content to update.• The content is harder to find.
Flabby Content
May 2012@larry_kunz
Costs more to translate.•More words•More inconsistency
Flabby Content
May 2012@larry_kunz
Forces your reader towork harder.• Jargon• Sesquipedalianism Big words• Convoluted structure• Weak verbs
Writing forGeorge Jetson
May 2012@larry_kunz
Writing forGeorge Jetson
May 2012@larry_kunz
Activating the red button initiates the process that invokes the Pizza Making feature.
Writing forGeorge Jetson
May 2012@larry_kunz
Press the red button to get a pizza.
Lightening Your Content
May 2012@larry_kunz
How can you trimyour flabby content?
(You already know the answer)
•A sensible diet•Healthy exercise
Tips for a Sensible Diet
May 2012@larry_kunz
I made this very long, because I did not have the leisure to make it shorter.
- Blaise Pascal
Make time to write less.
Tips for a Sensible Diet
May 2012@larry_kunz
Eliminate content that no one reads.
• Use web analytics.• Lop off the deadwood.
Tips for a Sensible Diet
May 2012@larry_kunz
Eliminate transitionalor “glue” material:
• In the next chapter we will see…• The following sections will tell you…• As you read previously…
Tips for a Sensible Diet
May 2012@larry_kunz
Endeavor to eliminate composition that is excessively sesquipedalian, bombastic, or circumlocutory.
• Simpler words• Simpler sentence structure
Tips for a Sensible Diet
May 2012@larry_kunz
a number of = somea majority of = most
due to the fact that = becausetake into consideration = consider
Thanks to Gurpreet Singhtechnicalwritingtoolbox.com
17Apr2012
• Active voice• Strong, concrete verbs• Controlled vocabulary
Healthy Exercise
May 2012@larry_kunz
Exercise good judgment!
Healthy Exercise
May 2012@larry_kunz
Remember your audience!
• Not what the SMEs want it to say (how it works)
• But what your audience needs (how to use it)
Healthy Exercise
May 2012@larry_kunz
Use structured authoring.
• Easier to isolate, then eliminate, unnecessary topics
• No need for “glue”
Healthy Exercise
May 2012@larry_kunz
Change inconsistencyinto consistency.
• Terminology• Phraseology• Level of detail• Topic structure
Healthy Exercise
May 2012@larry_kunz
Get feedback:
• Usability tests• Customer comments
…then adjust accordingly.
Stay in Touch!
May 2012@larry_kunz
Larry Kunzwww.sdicorp.com/Resources/Blog.aspx
[email protected]: @larry_kunz