Content Design
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of the story. At 14 words, they could comprehend more than 90% of the information. But move up to 43-word sentences and comprehension dropped below 10 percent.’
There’s a stack of different research out there, but the main point is that long sentences aren’t as easy to understand as shorter ones.
Jargon
One person’s specialist language is another person’s jargon.
There are times when you need to introduce an audience to a new term or phrase. There are other times when you assume everyone knows what you are talking about. However, the magic word there is _assume_.
If you are teaching, you will want to introduce new terms. If you are sharing your knowledge, thoughts or feelings, you might want to introduce new vocabulary.
If you want to really share with the world, rather than show off, introduce the term but explain it the first time
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on the page. It won’t hurt. It will definitely help.
There are many reasons not to use jargon (at least without explaining it the first time you use it on the page). Here are some of the main arguments I hear that jargon-busting content designers might have to contend with.
‘ This is for specialists. Everyone will know what I am talking about.’
That just can’t be true. It would suggest that there are never newcomers to that specialism – ever. It would also suggest that there’s no one who is just curious about your field of expertise and might want to expand their horizons into your world.
‘ You are dumbing it down’
This is the sentence I struggle with most. It says the author thinks they are cleverer than the audience they are talking to.
People who are well read (aka not dumb) read a lot.
They don’t have time to wade through jargon. They want the information quickly and easily – just like everyone else. Wanting to understand quickly has little to do with intelligence. It has a lot to do with time and respect.
Filling web pages with turgid prose doesn’t make anyone look clever; it makes them look arrogant and disrespectful. They don’t care what people think of the writing or how long it takes the audience to get through it.
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‘ 9-year-olds won’t want to read this. Why are you writing in that language?’
This argument comes from organisations trying to push a certain reading age.
The average reading age in the UK is about 9 years.
The average 9-year-old has over 30,000 terms in their vocabulary. If you cover up 30% of words on a page, a 9-year-old will still be able to accurately guess the content.
Writing for an age range isn’t the same as writing to that age. Most 9-year-olds will not be interested in insurance. But someone who is 49 with little time, or dyslexia, or a small phone screen, or a life to live, will benefit from you getting to the point quickly and with little jargon.
As I said before: it’s not dumbing down, it’s opening up.
Respecting the audience
If we write clearly with good structure, short sentences and plain language we are helping people read. In the UK alone, this means we may be helping:
● 1.5 million people who have a learning disability
● 7 million (conservative estimate) people who have dyslexia
● 2 million people with a visual impairment
● lots of people using a poor internet connection
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● most people who don’t want to read and reread something just to understand it Plain language
Plain language isn’t just about not using jargon, it’s about using language that is clear to your audience.
Take these examples:
It is a simple fact that continuing to keep regular checks and constantly watching cold water rising in temperature until it arrives at the boiling point of 100
degrees centigrade, will not, in fact, make it come to that perfect temperature any faster than, say, staring at the nearest wallpaper.
Watching water boil won’t make it boil any faster.
See what I mean?
A 9-year-old can read that first example (I know, I tested it on several of them). It’s just turgid and not to the point. It uses simple, plain language – but it’s not clear. It’s not easy to digest the information.
Plain language doesn’t mean short and terse, or that the writing will lack atmosphere or feeling either. Try this:
We listened to the snow fall. You’d think it would be silent but it’s not. Not if you really, really listen.
There’s the gentle thud of each tiny flake falling on its brother or sister, each nestling down for the winter.
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That’s plain English, written briefly. But it’s full of atmosphere and emotion.
Being clear in your language is the fastest route to making someone else understand what you are trying to communicate. Nothing else.
Punctuation
The first point to remember is that most people in the UK don’t know how to use little-used punctuation (square brackets, semicolons, etc). Lots of people can read it correctly, but they can’t use it correctly or confidently in adult life. Stick to using familiar punctuation like commas and full stops.
If you have a site that is meant to be easy to understand, make it easy to understand.
Ask yourself what sort of audience you have and what punctuation you should use. I’ve never seen anyone abandon a page because of a semicolon. But consider the speed your audience is reading at and how you can help them speed up or slow down. You can usually do that really effectively with familiar punctuation.
Just to make this point really, really clear: I am not saying don’t use anything but commas and full stops. I use all the punctuation I can get away with, all the time.
I love it. But when working on some websites, I know my audience want short sentences they can understand
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quickly; they don’t want to marvel at how well I can wrangle the English language.
Remember, this is not about perceived intelligence – it’s about speed of reading and comprehension. Nothing else.
You can also use punctuation to add rhythm to your work. You can emphasise a point by writing in short sentences. Maybe repeat certain words. Or you can add some length to your sentence (remembering the amount of words can influence understanding) and take your audience on a journey.
See what I did in those paragraphs? ;) Images
A picture paints a thousand words. Well, only if you can see it.
As content designers, we know that sometimes a graphic or icon is a good idea. You are not treading on a designer’s toes here (although they may feel that way). This is where you are a content designer and not a writer. If your audience will better understand what you are trying to say with a picture, use one.
For example, if you are telling people to look for a certain logo as a mark of quality, you should show that
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logo. However, make sure it is accessible. Make sure you have an alternative.
Ask yourself if there’s a better way of doing it. If someone is on a train with a poor phone signal, are they going to completely miss the point of your content piece if they can’t see all of it? What alternative can you offer? What alt text (alternative text for assistive technologies) will you include?
This is often a good opportunity to work collaboratively with a designer. Together, you can create an image that works for your users and for both of you.
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Talking of
collaboration:
sometimes, writing
on your own
doesn’t work.
You need input
from someone else.
That’s when
you should try
pair writing.
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Pair wr
iting
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Writing content
alongside someone
else (both of you,
at the same time,
in front of the same
computer or piece
of paper) is called
pair writing.
Your pair can be anyone: they could be another content designer, a service designer, a subject expert, your lawyer, the recep-tionist – anyone really.
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The point of pair
writing is that it gives
you double the brain
power. It’s like getting
through both the first
and the second draft
simultaneously.
The results are
powerful, but the
experience can be
both challenging
and productive.
Sometimes fun,
but not always.
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Pair writing is
useful because:
1. you get more work
done, faster
2. you can get the
content signed off
faster (if your pair-
writing companion
is the person
who’s responsible
for sign-off)
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3. your whole
organisation
works more
collaboratively,
which results in
more trust and
better working
relationships
all round
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It’s hard for one
person to write
content that’s both
accurate and easy
to read. That’s one
reason why pair
writing is such a
good idea. There are
always experts in
every organisation
who know every
single detail about
how each particular
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thing works. They can
write accurately. But
they’re not always
good at explaining it
clearly — precisely
because they know
too much about it.
Their minds are too
focused on the detail.
Pair writing helps
you get the best out
of both brains.
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Writing content
about fracking
Let’s imagine a Nice Green Energy job story that looks like this:
When I find out fracking
might happen near me
I want to find out exactly where So I can decide what I am going to do Your team decided this need could be best met using a postcode look-up tool, but it needs some additional content to end with. There’s no point leaving your users with a pin on a map and no supporting information.
Remember those Nice Green Energy colleagues we introduced in chapter 5? One of them was Sam, an expert on fracking. She can tell you how far the new fracking site will extend, what effect it will have, what the noise level will be, the lot. She’s going to be an ideal pair writing companion. (You already have analytics data that tells you what people are looking for, so you can anticipate the kind of answers they’d want from someone like Sam.) Case study
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With Sam’s help, you realise that the content needs to address finer-grained user stories, like this:
When I find out fracking
might happen near me
I want to find out if that proximity will mean my house will collapse
So I can decide what I am going to do Sam can tell you exactly what will happen. She wants to explain how deep the fracking goes, why it will or won’t cause subsidence and give reassuring advice. Your tone and style says the content should be friendly and reassuring. So how can you do all that and keep to the story?
1. how deep fracking goes is interesting to a whole bunch of audiences, not just people directly affected by it. That’s a story in and of itself. You need to decide whether to link to it or feature it.
2. the story doesn’t say people want to know why something happens. They just want to know if it will happen to them. While those 2 things can be directly linked, do they need to be on the same page?
3. how do you reassure someone who is affected? Will they believe you?
Happily, the answer to the original question Case study
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(‘Does fracking mean my house will collapse?’) is no. There’s no risk of subsidence. Well, there’s no evidence of it – which can be a different thing when people don’t trust you.
When writing, you will start with a page that follows the 80/20 rule (80% of people just want to know if their house will sink, nothing else).
The content should be something like this: Subsidence risk from fracking Residents are often worried there’s a risk of subsidence from fracking. The answer is no – there is no risk.
The reasons why are:
[You and Sam write three paragraphs of good content linking off to deep, technical content.]
Sam is happy with that, because it’s accurate.
You’re happy with it, because it’s easy to read.
Two brains, working together.
All the way through your pair-writing session you have:
● explained why you are suggesting edits: Sam is learning about how users consume information as much as you are learning about fracking
Case study
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● listened to Sam’s fears closely and questioned her: Sam may want another 50 words on the page and you don’t. But when you dig a little deeper, you find it is because she is always asked about that point when talking about this scenario
● learnt about any other needs you may have missed
Case study
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Writing with
other people
Successful pair writing depends on your relationship with your partner and their willingness to do things in a user-centred way. Sometimes, it can take time (perhaps several actual pair-writing sessions) for the 2 of you to build that relationship.
Some pair-writing partners are keen to jump in and really try to help. Others can get argumentative. When that happens, try to understand why. I have often found that it’s because no one has explained to my partner how reading behaviour has changed. Or no one has talked to them about their view of language and how online behaviour works. Those people are not trying to be obstructive or difficult, it’s just that no one has explained these things to them.
Sometimes, you might encounter people who have antiquated opinions (‘Well, that’s not what I learned in school’) and they don’t want to change them. All you can do is be professional and be the voice of the user.
Make your case using the research you did earlier in the process, and the insights that came from it.
Other times, the relationship can be tested because your expert partner keeps suggesting things, and you keep saying no because you don’t think they’re clear enough. It can sour the atmosphere. Try to avoid this
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by staying positive from the start. Rather than actually saying no, try typing your own suggestions. Keep your tone encouraging and lively. Say: ‘Could we put it like this? How about we say that with simpler words like these? We could simplify that in this way.’ And so on.
Top tips for
pair writing
● find a quiet space for the 2 of you to work together
● write the user story out on paper, and keep it close by so that it’s uppermost in yo
ur minds throughout
● get a big monitor and bump up the text size, so you can both clearly read every word
● constant experimentation is OK; type something, and ask ‘Does this work?’
● try not to work together for more than 2 hours at a time (more than that, and both brains start to lose focus)
OK. You’ve written some content. Now it’s time for a crit.
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Crits
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‘Crit’
is a short
nickname
for content
critique
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173
A crit is an
opportunity for
other people to
comment on a
piece of content
that’s been drafted
by an individual,
or by 2 people
doing pair writing.
Usually, it means getting a team of people to sit round a big screen that displays the content. Everyone joins in with their thoughts. One person takes notes.
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Crits can be hard
to deal with.
It’s not easy to
let other people
tear your hard
work to shreds.
It’s not easy to listen
to them telling you
what’s wrong with it.
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Many people, quite
naturally, fear
it turning into a
slanging match.
That’s why crits
have rules, so
that they become
safe environments
for meaningful
feedback.
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The rules are:
• be respectful:
everyone did the
best job possible
with the knowledge
they had at the time
• only discuss
the content, not
the person who
created it
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• only give
constructive
criticism: ‘That’s
crap’ is unhelpful
and unacceptable
• no one has to
defend a decision
Making the environment safe is the most important part of making a crit work. No one likes getting heaps of criticism.