redish stc summit 2013
DESCRIPTION
Everything we write is part of a conversation. What we write for work (and for helping people use products at home) serves a purpose. To have successful conversations (in email, web sites, apps, and more), we must understand what we are trying to achieve (our purposes), who we are conversing with (personas), and what they want and need to know (their conversations). When we think of our writing through purposes, personas, conversations, we can often succeed by letting go of many words.TRANSCRIPT
Janice (Ginny) Redish Redish & Associates, Inc. Bethesda, MD USA www.redish.net @GinnyRedish
Purposes, Personas, Conversations – Practical techniques for everything you create
Redish & Associates, Inc.
© 2013, Janice (Ginny) Redish Purposes, Personas, Conversations Slide 2
Everything you write serves a purpose
When you write this What do you want to happen? A proposal for funding Instructions for installing an app
Online help for a task
An email to your boss asking to go to the STC Summit
A web page about using ladders safely
Redish & Associates, Inc.
© 2013, Janice (Ginny) Redish Purposes, Personas, Conversations Slide 3
How do we achieve our purposes?
Flickr cc photo by Polandeze
Everything we write is part of a conversation.
Redish & Associates, Inc.
© 2013, Janice (Ginny) Redish Purposes, Personas, Conversations Slide 4
conversation is the contribution
of professional technical communicators
Asynchronous
Issuance of a TOP command results in a line zero condition.
To go to the beginning of your file, type TOP and press Enter.
Redish & Associates, Inc.
© 2013, Janice (Ginny) Redish Purposes, Personas, Conversations Slide 5
Everything we write is for other people
Redish & Associates, Inc.
© 2013, Janice (Ginny) Redish Purposes, Personas, Conversations Slide 6
What do we have to know about those people?
Quesenbery and Brooks, Storytelling for User Experience, Rosenfeld Media, 2010
Redish & Associates, Inc.
© 2013, Janice (Ginny) Redish Purposes, Personas, Conversations Slide 7
For most of what we write, the other person starts the conversation
You start the conversation
Flickr cc photo by Bradleyolin
He starts the conversation
Redish & Associates, Inc.
© 2013, Janice (Ginny) Redish Purposes, Personas, Conversations Slide 8
Jenna enjoying red wine at a friend's house.
Next moment after this picture – Oops!
Thanks to Caroline Jarrett for finding the example for me.
Redish & Associates, Inc.
© 2013, Janice (Ginny) Redish Purposes, Personas, Conversations Slide 11
Removing Red Wine Stains Vanish Oxi Action Powder removes wine stains easily. Important: Follow the package directions. Do not use on wool, silk, or leather. Do not use on wood, metals, or other finished or coated surfaces. Instructions 1. Dissolve 1 scoop of Vanish Oxi Action Powder
in 4 litres of warm water. (warm = max. 40o) 2. Soak the stained item.
• Colored item – soak max. 1 hour • White item – soak max. 6 hours
3. Wash as usual, adding 1 scoop of Vanish to the wash.
How I might revise the Vanish Oxi content
Redish & Associates, Inc.
© 2013, Janice (Ginny) Redish Purposes, Personas, Conversations Slide 12
plan organize write evaluate
Flickr cc photo by Polandeze
"Purposes, personas, conversations" helps you
Redish & Associates, Inc.
© 2013, Janice (Ginny) Redish Purposes, Personas, Conversations Slide 13
plan organize write evaluate
"Purposes, personas, conversations" helps you
Redish & Associates, Inc.
© 2013, Janice (Ginny) Redish Purposes, Personas, Conversations Slide 14
Content strategy = thinking strategically about your content
Aligning content with business goals (Ahava Leibtag)
A repeatable system that manages content throughout the content lifecycle (Rahel Bailie)
Develop and follow a content strategy
Halvorson and Rach, 2012
McGrane, 2012
Bailie and Urbina, 2012
Wachter-Boettcher, 2012
Redish & Associates, Inc.
© 2013, Janice (Ginny) Redish Purposes, Personas, Conversations Slide 15
Content is everything you say in all the ways you touch people
text illustrations charts graphs tables forms
videos podcasts blogs emails social media paper mailings
and more
Redish & Associates, Inc.
© 2013, Janice (Ginny) Redish Purposes, Personas, Conversations Slide 16
Content must be planned coordinated reviewed managed and maintained removed
Content strategy = Governance
all with cross-group collaboration
Break down those silos!
Redish & Associates, Inc.
© 2013, Janice (Ginny) Redish Purposes, Personas, Conversations Slide 17
Content strategy = Resources
People Who will write? edit?
illustrate? produce? What skills do
these people need?
Technology What systems
and templates will you use? How will people be trained?
Flickr cc photo by Rowens27
Redish & Associates, Inc.
© 2013, Janice (Ginny) Redish Purposes, Personas, Conversations Slide 18
Content strategy = Messages and more
Messages
Tones
Styles
Right content in the right amount to the right person at the right time in the right medium
Media
Voice
Redish & Associates, Inc.
© 2013, Janice (Ginny) Redish Purposes, Personas, Conversations Slide 19
Plan at every level
Why? (Purposes)
Who? (Personas)
What? (Conversations)
Redish & Associates, Inc.
© 2013, Janice (Ginny) Redish Purposes, Personas, Conversations Slide 20
Aligned with business goals and content strategy Measurable Specific Focused on your customers
Why? Purposes
$ $ $
$ $ $
Redish & Associates, Inc.
© 2013, Janice (Ginny) Redish Purposes, Personas, Conversations Slide 21
Be specific
http://www. manageyourwriting.com/
Kenneth W. Davis
Redish & Associates, Inc.
© 2013, Janice (Ginny) Redish Purposes, Personas, Conversations Slide 22
Focus on what you want people to do because you wrote this content
to sell lots of shoes
people to buy the shoes we sell to tell people how to get their driver's license
people to get their driver's license successfully without frustration and without calling with questions
We want
Redish & Associates, Inc.
© 2013, Janice (Ginny) Redish Purposes, Personas, Conversations Slide 23
Redish & Associates, Inc.
© 2013, Janice (Ginny) Redish Purposes, Personas, Conversations Slide 24
Who? Personas
Who they are
Adjectives and phrases to describe Abilities Aptitudes Attitudes
Even assumptive personas can help you focus on the people your copy is for.
Redish & Associates, Inc.
© 2013, Janice (Ginny) Redish Purposes, Personas, Conversations Slide 25
What? Conversations
Redish & Associates, Inc.
© 2013, Janice (Ginny) Redish Purposes, Personas, Conversations Slide 26
How I might revise Make an Appointment
http://www.uwmedicine.org/ Patient-Care/Our-Services/ Pages/Make-An-Appointment.aspx
Redish & Associates, Inc.
© 2013, Janice (Ginny) Redish Purposes, Personas, Conversations Slide 28
"Purposes, personas, conversations" helps you
plan
organize write evaluate
Don't hog the conversation. Take turns.
Redish & Associates, Inc.
© 2013, Janice (Ginny) Redish Purposes, Personas, Conversations Slide 29
Hear your reader as you write.
What's a SIM card?
It's not all here. What do I do?
Redish & Associates, Inc.
© 2013, Janice (Ginny) Redish Purposes, Personas, Conversations Slide 30
Cut to the essential message – and put it first
2011
Redish & Associates, Inc.
© 2013, Janice (Ginny) Redish Purposes, Personas, Conversations Slide 31
2013
Redish & Associates, Inc.
© 2013, Janice (Ginny) Redish Purposes, Personas, Conversations Slide 32
Redish & Associates, Inc.
© 2013, Janice (Ginny) Redish Purposes, Personas, Conversations Slide 33
"Bite, snack, meal" from Leslie O'Flahavan, www.ewriteonline.com.
Bite
Snack
Meal
Redish & Associates, Inc.
© 2013, Janice (Ginny) Redish Purposes, Personas, Conversations Slide 36
Break up text with parallel, useful headings
www.gov.uk
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© 2013, Janice (Ginny) Redish Purposes, Personas, Conversations Slide 37
www.ebags.com
Hear the conversation as you design and write
I like that bag, but I wonder
Redish & Associates, Inc.
© 2013, Janice (Ginny) Redish Purposes, Personas, Conversations Slide 38
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 in a conversation?
Flickr cc photo by Seattle Municipal Archives
Redish & Associates, Inc.
© 2013, Janice (Ginny) Redish Purposes, Personas, Conversations Slide 39
Think "conversation" even from sentence to sentence
If you are importing yams, [someone] must fumigate them when they arrive at the port of entry.
To fumigate yams, [that person] must use this procedure:
To do x, If x, Do x before After you do x, .
new
context = given, known
then
Redish & Associates, Inc.
© 2013, Janice (Ginny) Redish Purposes, Personas, Conversations Slide 40
Talk to (and with) your customers
In the presentation, this slide had a visual with two versions of the lead-in to a form:
a noun-based description, followed by a call to action
a conversational phrase as if the site visitor were speaking
The conversational phrase generated many more leads and sales.
https://whichtestwon.com/archives/19429 with permission to show but not to distribute
Redish & Associates, Inc.
© 2013, Janice (Ginny) Redish Purposes, Personas, Conversations Slide 41
Give your customers a voice
In the presentation, this slide had a visual with two versions of a call-to-action button. One button used "my." The other used "your."
"My" generated many more clicks.
https://whichtestwon.com/archives/20134 with permission to show but not to distribute
Redish & Associates, Inc.
© 2013, Janice (Ginny) Redish Purposes, Personas, Conversations Slide 42
Let go of the words – but, sometimes, add words the conversation needs
www.virb.com Example from Josh Porter http://bokardo.com
Jarrett and Gaffney, 2008
Redish & Associates, Inc.
© 2013, Janice (Ginny) Redish Purposes, Personas, Conversations Slide 43
Content = Conversation helps you
plan organize write
evaluate
Redish & Associates, Inc.
© 2013, Janice (Ginny) Redish Purposes, Personas, Conversations Slide 44
Walk your personas through their conversations Do usability testing!
Even before that: "channel" your personas as they bring their conversations to your content.
Barnum, 2010
Redish & Associates, Inc.
© 2013, Janice (Ginny) Redish Purposes, Personas, Conversations Slide 45
Thank you! More questions? Write to me: [email protected]
Morgan Kaufmann / Elsevier 2nd edition, 2012
@GinnyRedish
Ginny Redish
Ginny Redish www.redish.net