Light(e)ningTalkLarry Kunz

Systems Documentation Inc.

STC Summit – May 2012@larry_kunz

May 2012@larry_kunz

Flabby Content

Flabby Content

May 2012@larry_kunz

Is harder to keep current.

• There’s more content to update.• The content is harder to find.

Flabby Content

May 2012@larry_kunz

Costs more to translate.•More words•More inconsistency

Flabby Content

May 2012@larry_kunz

Forces your reader towork harder.• Jargon• Sesquipedalianism Big words• Convoluted structure• Weak verbs

Writing forGeorge Jetson

May 2012@larry_kunz

Writing forGeorge Jetson

May 2012@larry_kunz

Activating the red button initiates the process that invokes the Pizza Making feature.

Writing forGeorge Jetson

May 2012@larry_kunz

Press the red button to get a pizza.

Lightening Your Content

May 2012@larry_kunz

How can you trimyour flabby content?

(You already know the answer)

•A sensible diet•Healthy exercise

Tips for a Sensible Diet

May 2012@larry_kunz

I made this very long, because I did not have the leisure to make it shorter.

- Blaise Pascal

Make time to write less.

Tips for a Sensible Diet

May 2012@larry_kunz

Eliminate content that no one reads.

• Use web analytics.• Lop off the deadwood.

Tips for a Sensible Diet

May 2012@larry_kunz

Eliminate transitionalor “glue” material:

• In the next chapter we will see…• The following sections will tell you…• As you read previously…

Tips for a Sensible Diet

May 2012@larry_kunz

Endeavor to eliminate composition that is excessively sesquipedalian, bombastic, or circumlocutory.

• Simpler words• Simpler sentence structure

Tips for a Sensible Diet

May 2012@larry_kunz

a number of = somea majority of = most

due to the fact that = becausetake into consideration = consider

Thanks to Gurpreet Singhtechnicalwritingtoolbox.com

17Apr2012

• Active voice• Strong, concrete verbs• Controlled vocabulary

Healthy Exercise

May 2012@larry_kunz

Exercise good judgment!

Healthy Exercise

May 2012@larry_kunz

Remember your audience!

• Not what the SMEs want it to say (how it works)

• But what your audience needs (how to use it)

Healthy Exercise

May 2012@larry_kunz

Use structured authoring.

• Easier to isolate, then eliminate, unnecessary topics

• No need for “glue”

Healthy Exercise

May 2012@larry_kunz

Change inconsistencyinto consistency.

• Terminology• Phraseology• Level of detail• Topic structure

Healthy Exercise

May 2012@larry_kunz

Get feedback:

• Usability tests• Customer comments

…then adjust accordingly.

Stay in Touch!

May 2012@larry_kunz

Larry Kunzwww.sdicorp.com/Resources/Blog.aspx

lkunz@sdicorp.comTwitter: @larry_kunz