Beyond Words: Telling your users stories

Ever wondered why not all content is created equal?

Mostly because we live in a world of progressive information disclosure that has further been disrupted by the disruptive technology available to us with the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

We, as technical communicators, have the responsibility of analyzing and filtering information that we receive. This identification of information and Principles of Minimalism go hand in hand.

As John Carroll puts it:
“People are situated in a world more real to them than a series of steps…. In a word, they are too busy learning to make much use of the instructions. This is the paradox of sense-making.”

Carroll insisted that a product should be so intuitive that people could instantly use it without having to read a single page of the documentation. We are building information based on what the user selected, rather than showing everything at once.

Usability experts like Jakob Nielsen, William Horton, Jared Spool, and other pioneers in this field significantly changed the way we analyze, write, and even structure information.

Content must expand itself through the concepts of multi-media and multi-platform, Micro-content, embedded videos, Podcasts, AI and Machine Learning, and how they contribute towards an effective Content Strategy.

More recent approaches consider learning as an integral part of enhancing user experience and making it as effortless as possible. We need to reorganize our content to create an information consumer base and reach people with content that matters to them – where, when and how they want it.

Let’s look at information from a completely different perspective and instead of focusing on product features and technical details, let’s begin to look at how people use products.

What can the audience expect to learn?

Through my presentation, audience will gather information on technological evolution and innovations related to process. Also, quantum of activities that we must perform for a sustainable presence with the technological innovation. Above all, reconsidering the content development options available in the industry to complement their existing PDFs including Graphic design or technical illustration basics, incorporating multimedia, including video and animations

Meet the presenter

Dr Anu Singh is a technical communicator who considers herself a work in-progress towards perfection. Anu has earned a Ph.D. in English Literature for her studies about the American Literature and Indian Writing in English, and she loves reading about culture, new technologies and stories in the novel or short-story format. Professionally, Anu works in the areas of Digital transformation and Agile, project management, client experiences, and career development for content developers. She strives to function as a servant leader to provide overall guidance, make connections for people, and remove roadblocks, and she hopes that she is achieving that at a small level at least.  As a thought leader, she believes that leadership is a very personal approach and is one of the key drivers of empowering people by creating opportunities and building platforms for empowerment with people who are qualified and who you trust so they can be in the center of the action and drive the mission forward. She believes that there is a lot to discover about the enormity of the human mind, its thoughts, feelings and the social paradigm it creates and coexists in. She is currently working for a team of content developers in India and managing information for eCommerce and Shared Product at the global level for one of the business units at Fiserv.

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