instructions for a pb&j sandwhich - a little OT

Subject: instructions for a pb&j sandwhich - a little OT
From: Sean Hower <hokumhome -at- freehomepage -dot- com>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Tue, 28 May 2002 08:19:30 -0700 (PDT)




Hi all.

I was watching a PBS show for kids called "Zoom" yesterday. One of the recurring pieces was a group of kids trying to give directions to another kid on how to make a pb&j sandwhich. The kid following the instructions took everything the other kids told him quite literally, with results such as the kid places the jars of peanut butter and jelly between two slices of bread, and the kid putting peanut butter and jelly on the bread wrapper.

It was very entertaining to watch and it made a good point. We assume an aweful lot of shared knowledge when we intereact with other people. Those assumptions can lead to misunderstanding and mistakes, making it difficult to communicate important information. The example demonstrates:

* the need to understand our audience
* the need to create explicit instructions that include even the obvious

Just a philosophical footnote in the life of this tech writer. Enjoy or reject. :-)



********************************************
Sean Hower

technical writer
http://hokum.freehomepage.com

_____________________________________________________________
Create your own web site for FREE at http://www.freehomepage.com

_____________________________________________________________
Promote your group and strengthen ties to your members with email -at- yourgroup -dot- org by Everyone.net http://www.everyone.net/?btn=tag


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Check out RoboDemo for tutorials! It makes creating full-motion software
demonstrations and other onscreen support materials easy and intuitive.
Need RoboHelp? Save $100 on RoboHelp Office in May with our mail-in rebate.
Go to http://www.ehelp.com/techwr-l

Free copy of ARTS PDF Tools when you register for the PDF
Conference by May 15. Leading-Edge Practices for Enterprise
& Government, June 3-5, Bethesda,MD. www.PDFConference.com

---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as: archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot- Visit http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.


Previous by Author: re: placing screengrabs in html help
Next by Author: re: instructions for a pb&j sandwhich - a little OT
Previous by Thread: Tools: Unresponsive Delete or Backspace key in Word 97--a solutio n!
Next by Thread: RE: instructions for a pb&j sandwhich - a little OT


What this post helpful? Share it with friends and colleagues:


Sponsored Ads