Writing: The Value of Adding Images to Technical Documentation

The Value of Adding Images to Technical Documentation

Written by V. Berba Velasco Jr., Ph.D.

It’s cliché, but true—a picture does paint a thousand words. This is an important message to remember when writing any sort of user documentation, such as an installation guide or an instruction manual. A document that makes judicious use of images and diagrams will be much easier to understand than one that is composed entirely of text descriptions.

I observed this first-hand years ago, when a junior programmer at one company was asked to update repparttar software installation manual for their machine controllers. One of repparttar 128737 first things he did was to strip away all repparttar 128738 screen capture images, reducing repparttar 128739 entire document to plain text. “These images are just silly!” he said. “They take up space, and they’re just not necessary. I trust that anyone who reads this document will be smart enough to figure it out.”

This turned out to be a huge mistake. The technicians who had to use repparttar 128740 manual had a difficult time making sense of its instructions. They had to repeatedly ask for clarification, and one of them told me that repparttar 128741 pure text descriptions were just too cumbersome to follow. They were fearful of using these instructions at all, knowing that a single misstep could lock repparttar 128742 controllers into an irrecoverable state. It was a ugly situation all around.

The problem was that this programmer didn’t try to make things easy for repparttar 128743 users. For one thing, he failed to consider that some technicians were not native English speakers, and that they might struggle with repparttar 128744 wording. More importantly though, this programmer expected too much from his audience. He wanted to reduce these instructions to their bare essentials, thinking that would be adequate. He failed to consider that even an intelligent, otherwise careful reader might be tempted to jump over instructions, or would gloss over some critical detail. This is a common pitfall when time is short, and when repparttar 128745 users are confronted with pages and pages of bland text.

Telling Your Story: The First Ten Seconds Are A Make Or Break

Written by Catherine Franz

Why do people write long copy? It is not because their readers read it all! People write long stories for repparttar

same reason that restaurants that serve big portions get customers lining up at their doors. They are creating repparttar 128736

illusion that their meal is cost effective. A long story suggests that there is a lot to say.

The American society teaches that more is better and you are not going to single handedly change that. Instead, go with repparttar 128737 flow -- use repparttar 128738 illusion and write long emails, long articles, and long sales letters...BUT before you do, make sure there are six questions that are answered in repparttar 128739 first ten seconds of your copy.

The questions are: What? Who? When? Where? How? Why?

"What" always needs to come first in every story. "What" must also be part of repparttar 128740 headline, subheadline or graphic and needs to dominate your marketing piece. It needs to be simple, fresh, and catchy (not tricky). It must convey what repparttar 128741 reader will get for continuing.

"Who" identifies your business. It must tell repparttar 128742 reader who is telling repparttar 128743 story and it must do so at least twice in your marketing piece. If you use your logo as your "who," it must fuse with repparttar 128744 "what" element of repparttar 128745 ad. "Who" means more than a name or a logo. Some logos seem to speak to repparttar 128746 designer, but mean nothing to repparttar 128747 reader.

If your logo doesn't automatically deliver meaning, then only use it to build your brand. Remember, however, that branding is a time and dollar intensive effort.

"Who" can be conveyed through pictures. A good picture of you, your employees, your office, or your events create a personal connection with your reader. If you offer workshops or seminars, use those pictures. People are more likely to believe a photo than a piece of artwork. If you have been in business for a while, say so "since 1982" counts.

Longevity builds points in repparttar 128748 trust category. Be sure to identify with your name and weave that information throughout repparttar 128749 entire piece. By repparttar 128750 time you are done, your piece should be so closely identified with you that it would be impossible for someone to pirate your words or logo and put them into their marketing piece.

"When" is usually simple to add. It needs to go further down in repparttar 128751 marketing piece. Novices place "when" in repparttar 128752 topic. If repparttar 128753 readers find your information important, they will create repparttar 128754 space to attend. If you say it too soon, before it is important to your readers, they may say "no." After your prospects learn what is happening and who is doing it, repparttar 128755 next question is "when." At that point, you give days, dates and time. If it is a big event, use repparttar 128756 year in repparttar 128757 date. All too often, retailers leave their hours out their ads.

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