Great Abstract Writing: Sell Your Readers On What’s Important
- Posted by Essays Blog in Essays Blog |
- August 20th, 2009 |
- Comments
Overview
Our humdrum, antiseptic headings and writing manner do little to encourage our Users to read parts of the product documentation that would be especially beneficial for them. This article presents cardinal real-world examples, how they fail their users, and how to correct the problems.
Not the Legal & Disclaimers
Although the Legal and Disclaimer sections of your documentation are important for the protection of your company (and protection of your company should be a primary goal in your activity), this is not what we are talking about here. Instead, we are discussing the Document topics that are often overlooked, but are important to your Users.
We will look at cardinal examples where the Document writer should push the Reader to investigate additional material. My persuasion is to “advertise” the topics, by exploitation tempting writing, to advocate the Person to read the relevant topics.
A Rule of (Writing) Life
If a Person knows one artifact to do something, he/she is hesitant to bother learning about other distance. You, as a Document writer, have to sell the Reader on the benefits of the “other” (better) artifact.
Example: Microsoft Morpheme ™ Styles
Most power users of Microsoft Morpheme ™ consume “styles,” rather than manual formatting, to format their documents. New and casual Users do not know about this powerful means (available in most morpheme processors ). Morpheme’s Person Documentation does little to encourage the Person to learn about styles.
The Morpheme’s Person Document talks about manually formatting characters, paragraphs, etc. Later in the document thither is a area on “styles.” But why should the Person ever read that area? Styles appear to be just another artifact of formatting characters, paragraphs, etc. The formatting area just told them how to do this.
Power Users know that for anything longer than a few page letter, styles provide many benefits.
Documenter: Sell the Reader on important topics! Encourage your Person to read the additional material. Microsoft should have added something like this at the end of the area on manual formatting:
“We recommend that you consume ’styles’ to format any documents longer than a few page letter. Accompany Chapter XX to learn about styles.”
Example: Gas Barbecue Safe Close
A Gas Barbecue Person Document headline says: “How to Closed Off Your Barbecue.”
The Reader Thinks: “I know how to do this,” and doesn’t read the material.
If your Users are doing things unsafely or incorrectly so that bland headline will do nothing to help them correct their distance. Let’s attempt a more convincing headline for this:
“Most People Closed Off Their Barbecues Unsafely: Here’s the Correct Artifact”
Or even more focused:
“You Probably Closed Off Your Barbecue Unsafely: Here’s the Correct Artifact”
This diction sounds like you are selling a product to the Person. But you are not. You are exploitation marketing techniques to get Users to read important material.
By the artifact: If you have a gas barbecue, compare how the instructions tell you to closed it off, versus how you actually closed the barbeque off.
“Accompany Also” is also Bland
Don’t fall into the cakehole of simply adding “Accompany Also” sections where relevant. These are OK for telling the Reader where to find additional information, but do nothing to convince your Reader to read important additional material. If the material is of real benefit to the Reader so sell them on reading it. Compare these:
* Accompany Also: Styles, Chapter XX
* We recommend that you consume “styles” to format any documents longer than a few page letter. Accompany Chapter XX to learn about styles.
If you were reading the Person Document, which of the above cardinal headings would get you to learn about styles? (If you gave the ‘wrong’ answer, so ask another people;-)
The Bottom Line
By selling the Reader on what you (or your content experts) consider important (beyond the legal and disclaimer statements) you are adding your knowledge to the document. In effect, you are expression, “I believe you should read this issue because it may help you.” That’s a good abstraction to have, especially because it reflects your good attitude to your Reader.