⭐Understanding your audience is crucial when writing clear instructions to determine the appropriate level of detail.
✏️Use precise and concrete terminology to ensure clarity and avoid confusion.
🔍Avoid abstract language and provide exact measurements whenever possible for precise instructions.
📚Use nouns instead of pronouns to avoid ambiguity and repetition.
🔢Break up larger tasks into smaller chunks and consider adding subheadings for better organization and readability.
How can I write clear instructions?
—To write clear instructions, understand your audience, use precise terminology, provide exact measurements, avoid abstract language and pronouns, break up larger tasks, and prioritize clarity over brevity.
Why is understanding the audience important?
—Understanding your audience helps determine the appropriate level of detail and ensures that instructions are tailored to their needs and existing knowledge.
What should I consider when writing documentation?
—When writing documentation, consider using short, complete sentences, precise terminology, and providing clear instructions. Break up larger tasks, reference previously written ideas, and simplify sentences with multiple nouns.
What role does clarity play in privacy and policy related content?
—Clarity is crucial in privacy and policy related content to ensure readers understand the information and instructions clearly. Prioritize clarity over brevity in these documents.
How should I approach clear instructions in software design?
—In software design, clear instructions should focus on answering three questions: Where am I? What can I do? How do I move forward? Position the text in visual and interactive components to guide users through workflows.
00:03Clear instructions should be quickly understood by users.
00:18To write clear instructions, know your audience and their expectations.
00:36Tips for writing clear instructions: use short, complete sentences, precise terminology, and avoid jargon.
01:13Using nouns instead of pronouns helps avoid ambiguity.
01:21An example of improving clarity by replacing pronouns with nouns.
02:13Break up larger tasks into smaller chunks and use subheadings if necessary.
03:07In software design, ensure users can answer three questions: where am I? what can I do? how do I move forward?
03:46Improving a dialog popup by providing clearer instructions.
