Could You Be More Specific? Techniques to make sure your words say what you want them to say

COULD YOUBE MORESPECIFIC?

DESIGN METHODS TRAINING 1.14.2014

Techniques to make sure your words say what you want them to say.

EFFECTIVE USE OF LANGUAGE IS VITAL TO GREAT EXPERIENCE DESIGN.


We write because we need to: !• Communicate instructions to research participants,

testers or end users. • Document process for colleagues. • Deliver intangible deliverables to clients. • Sell the value of our work and pitch new work.

THE DESIGN INDUSTRY SPEWS OUT A DISPROPORTIONATE AMOUNT OF TERRIBLE WRITING.


!Developing strategies to reach deep into a culture requires a broad knowledge base and diverse skill sets, along with a lifestyle of learning and a craving for new experiences. You have to be part participant and part observer to keep pace with a landscape changing as quickly as the tastes of the cultures that comprise it and the technologies that deliver it.

“

”—Andculture

WHY? WELL…


• Experience designers tend to write like academics. • The intangible nature of our deliverables and the

simplicity of our recommendations make us want to dress them up.

• It’s faster to write badly than it is to write well.

OUR WORK IS ABOUT ORDER AND CLARITY. WE SHOULD HOLD OURSELVES TO THE SAME STANDARD IN LANGUAGE.


CONSIDER SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE LANGUAGE.


• Concrete and specific, not vague and abstract.

• Concise, not verbose. • Familiar, not obscure.

• Precise and clear, not inaccurate or ambiguous.

• Constructive, not destructive. • Appropriately formal.

* http://faculty.washington.edu/

It is:

http://faculty.washington.edu/

FOR TODAY, I’D LIKE TO FOCUS ON HOW WE CAN BE MORE MORE EXACT, LESS ABSTRACT AND MORE INTERESTING.


Innovative

Cutting EdgeDisrup

t

Growth Hacking

Curate

ABSTRACTION SERVES A PURPOSE. IT’S VITAL IN THE TECH WORLD.


We abstract away granularity in computing so it is possible to do complicated things quickly. We use language the same way.

noun \ab-ˈstrak-shən, əb-\a general idea or quality rather than an actual person, object, or event

* http://www.merriam-webster.com/

Q: WHAT DID YOU DO LAST NIGHT? A: I WENT SHOPPING.


Good enough? Maybe.

Q: WHAT ARE YOUR PASSIONS? A: INNOVATION.


Good enough? Maybe. But it’s not very specific.

CONSIDER THE CASCADING ABSTRACTION IN THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS:


• AJ’s relationship with Dom is unacceptable. • AJ does not get along well with Dom. • AJ and Dom fight constantly. • AJ and Dom insult each other at work. • AJ calls Dom a dumbass three times a week.

NOW, CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS:


• We are committed to collaboration. • We work closely with our clients. • We expect clients to participate at every step of a project. • The project team and client will be in constant communication. • We believe in twice-weekly planning calls.

THESE STATEMENTS PROVIDE VARYING DEGREES OF DETAIL. EACH MAY BE APPROPRIATE GIVEN CONTEXT AND INTENT.


When in doubt, err on the side of specificity.

SOMETIMES, THOUGH, WRITING CAN BE NEEDLESSLY ABSTRACT.


"In proportion as the manners, customs, and amusements of a nation are cruel and barbarous, the regulations of their penal code will be severe."

"In proportion as men delight in battles, bull-fights, and combats of gladiators, will they punish by hanging, burning, and the rack."

*Philosophy of Style, Herbert Spencer

RETURNING TO THE CLASSICS…


This superiority of specific expressions is clearly due to a saving of the effort required to translate words into thoughts. As we do not think in generals but in particulars—as, whenever any class of things is referred to, we represent it to ourselves by calling to mind individual members of it; it follows that when an abstract word is used, the bearer or reader has to choose from his stock of images, one or more, by which he may figure to himself the genus mentioned.

*Philosophy of Style, Herbert Spencer

“

”—Herbert Spencer

WHILE AVOIDING ABSTRACTION WHERE POSSIBLE, BE EXACT IN YOUR WORD CHOICE.


INNOVATION IS AN IMPRECISE WORD.


Innovation

Origination

Introduction

CreationFoundation

FoundingInitiation

Instauration

Institution

Invention

Design

ConceptionExcogitation

*www.visualthesaurus.com

The act of starting something new for the first time.

A creation (a new device or process) resulting from study.

The creation of something in the mind.

http://www.visualthesaurus.com

DOING THIS IS HARD. ONE WAY TO HELP YOURSELF IS TO “SHOW, NOT TELL.”


THIS TECHNIQUE IS VITAL TO GOOD CREATIVE WRITING, BUT CAN BE ADAPTED TO OUR PURPOSES.


I thought her anywhere between sixteen and thirty; as it turned out, she was shy two months of her nineteenth birthday… She was never without dark glasses, she was always well groomed, there was a consequential good taste in the plainness of her clothes, the blues and grays and lack of luster that made her, herself, shine so.

“ ”—Truman Capote, Breakfast at Tiffany’s

SHOWING REVEALS. TELLING EXPLAINS.


When showing, the writer presents evidence to the reader. The writer sets out the facts, and lets the reader decide.“ ”—James Thayer, Show or Tell

*James Thayer. “Show or Tell? A Powerful Lesson on a Critical Writings Skill”

SOMETIMES TELLING IS OKAY.OBVI, DUH.


• You need to deliver a lot of information quickly and simply. • The context doesn’t allow for showing (introductions). • Providing backstory.

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?


“Dorian Gray was privileged and indolent.”

“One afternoon, a month later, Dorian Gray was reclining in a luxurious armchair, in the little library of Lord Henry’s house in Mayfair.”

TELL: SHOW:

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?


“For more than 13 years, we have been in constant pursuit of the cutting edge in design, user experience and functionality. We've built a company committed to making the creative and development processes as valuable as the deliverables.”

We hire and develop talented people interested teaching and learning with our clients. Every project generates valuable insight beyond its formal parameters.

TELL: SHOW:

HOW DO WE MAKE THIS OUR FRAME OF REFERENCE? THREE WORDS: IS THERE EVIDENCE?


• His Arm Itched. Is there evidence? He scratched his arm. • We love documentation. Is there evidence? The wall is covered

sticky notes. • We believe in continuous learning. Is there evidence? Every

week the strategy team sits down for methods training.

*James Thayer. “Show or Tell? A Powerful Lesson on a Critical Writings Skill”

OUR WORK DEPENDS ON EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION. HOW DO WE DO IT BETTER?


• Use specific language. • Avoid unnecessary abstraction. • Show where possible. Don’t tell.


THANKS!