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I like to write, but as a writer of business communications, I'm faced with a hard truth—nobody wants to read the stuff I'm writing. Watching people use my documents, it's obvious to me that they aren't reading—they're skipping and scanning through the content, hunting for the information they need. They're in a hurry to get back to whatever they were doing, as quickly as possible.
Good writers understand this and design documents that help users find what they're looking for.
Think about how you read a novel, and contrast it with how you use a policy, procedure or reference document. Here's a table with a few differences for you keep in mind when you're writing for users.
| When you're a reader… | When you're a user… |
| you're interested in finding out more about your topic. | you're only interested in finding the information that will enable you to get back to work. If it's not relevant, you don't need it. |
| you like variety, because it amuses and challenges you. | you don't like variety, because it annoys you and slows you down. You prefer consistency. |
| you appreciate wit, humor and wordplay. | you appreciate clear, concise information that will enable you to get back to work. Anything else is just unwelcome distraction. |
| you enjoy surprises. | you're puzzled and slowed by surprises, because they annoy and distract you. |
| you want to be informed and entertained by what you're reading. | you just want to get back to work. |
It's hard to miss the recurring theme in that second column—users don't want to spend time reading. They want to find what they're looking for and get back to doing their jobs. Your challenge as a writer is to create documents that give them the help and guidance they need.
Does this happen to you too? Please let us know your thoughts.
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