Today's media-saturated world challenges people to comprehend and respond quickly to a plethora of visual messages. Our news-based and "how-to" information may be adding to audience overwhelm instead of helping people perform. This article discusses five information design techniques that can boost our audience's ability to interpret and respond.
For this reason, it's quite possible that our news-based and "how-to" information -- such as memos, newsletters, policies, procedures, instructions, user manuals, and system interfaces -- may just be adding to audience overwhelm instead of helping people perform.
After all, we also want people to view our persuasive information, such as advertisements, marketing blasts, and commercial announcements. Multiply that by the number of competitors we have who are doing the same exact thing, and it's easy to see why our materials don't receive attention!To remedy this situation, we need to "grab people by the eyeballs" and give them more control over what we submit for their attention. We must enable our audiences to scan, skip, and retrieve -- and then act on the information fast, before the relentless demands on their time force their attention to shift elsewhere.
The information we design must be "high-impact" to get attention, but also "low-bandwidth" in terms of the effort and brain-power required to process it. The easier the information is to process, the more readily people will:
As part of the solution, this article discusses five powerful information design techniques that can boost our audience's ability to interpret and respond.
First, What Shortcomings Do We Find in Business Information?
On more than one occasion, you've probably encountered a puzzling user manual, bewildering procedure, baffling software interface, or confusing memo. Therefore, you've probably seen plenty of examples of dense, crowded text; long-winded, rambling sentences; a convoluted writing style; and a confusing layout.
Why do these things matter? A poor visual presentation can delay or even prevent someone from understanding and taking action! The consequences include:
What Can We Improve Using Effective Information Design?
Information design principles can come to the rescue by:
Five Ways that Information Design Techniques Work Their Magic
These ways include :
1) classifying,
2) chunking,
3) simplifying,
4) arranging, and
5) illustrating -- all approaches used in what's called "structured writing."
1) Classifying organizes content into five actionable types: facts, concepts, processes, procedures, and principles.
By classifying information into these types, we can create specific sections to support and complement one another. For example, readers often need facts and/or concepts before they can use procedures.
2) Chunking breaks the content into smaller, more digestible messages.
Short-term memory is very limited; humans can process only about 3-4 chunks of information at a time. By "chunking" material into smaller bites, we can reduce the information-processing load.
3) Simplifying uses very direct, "plain talk" to get ideas across fast.
"Plain talk" uses the active voice and simple words to communicate ideas. The active voice uses a noun followed by a verb to show who is taking action: "The technician removes the tray from the table" (not "The tray is removed from the table"). Instructions in procedures are short and direct: "Remove the tray from the table.
"Avoid "corporate-speak," "academic-speak," or a meandering style when you want a fast response!
4) Arranging text and graphics with visual cues helps people scan, skip, and retrieve quickly.
Gestalt psychologists studied visual spatial cues and perception in the 1920s. They learned that the use of visual cues helps direct attention fast.
Examples of visual cues include bulleted lists, tables, white space, headers, bolded text, labels, dividers, hierarchy, grouping, and relative size.
5) Illustrating reinforces or replaces text with graphic elements.
Much research shows that prose is less efficient and less effective than graphic elements. Robert Horn, author of "Visual Language" (who also developed Information Mapping®, a widely used structured writing system), is a leading authority.
Why Do These Solutions Work?
1) Structuring, chunking, simplifying, and arranging all aid comprehension.
Dr. M. David Merrill and Robert Horn have each contributed a set of ideas and methods that use some or all of these techniques. These methods have been tested repeatedly and found to boost reading, retrieval, and learning speeds.
2) Graphic elements further support the retention and application of information.
Extensive multimedia research by Dr. Richard E. Mayer illustrates when and how to mix text and graphics or multimedia. The right blend produces optimal learning, retention, and application.
3) All methods reduce errors and response time, while raising response quality.
When you combine these techniques effectively, errors that occur from reader misinterpretations drop greatly. Response time also declines when it's clear to people what to do and how to do it.
In conclusion, consider using information design principles -- classifying, chunking, simplifying, arranging, and illustrating -- to help ensure your audience's success.
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