Skill #9: Creating a Human Connection in Your Documentation
We’ve all read (and perhaps written) a boring document: the robot-like language, the walls of text. And we’re all familiar with the result: a disengaged reader who’s likely missed the message.
Enter John Espirian, freelance technical writer and Director at the Society for Editors and Proofreaders.
John believes the difference between a boring and a not-boring document comes down to one essential element: a human connection.
In this episode, John shares how you can create that human connection in your documentation, including:
- how to better understand your end-users.
- why your documentation tone must match the brand.
- what simplicity means (and doesn’t mean).
Show Notes:
- Pen Portraits
- John Espirian (Twitter) (LinkedIn) (Facebook)
- John’s site
Creators and Guests
Host
Jacob Moses
Jacob Moses is the founder and original host of The Not-Boring Tech Writer podcast, which he launched in 2016 to celebrate tech writers and push back against the stereotype that technical writing is boring. He studied technical communication at the University of North Texas, and his first gig out of college was as a tech writer at Rainmaker Digital (formerly Copyblogger Media). Since then, he's carried the skills and values he cultivated as a tech writer into community development and real estate. Today, Jacob is owner of Care Block Development, a real estate development company that acquires, rehabs, and manages historic buildings in Denton, Texas. Pairing historic preservation with thoughtful improvements, Care Block honors the culture of the neighborhoods in which it works to create lovable places for the people it serves. He's also the owner of Sardinha, a premium tinned seafood pop-up pushing premium tins in Denton. If you need a tinfish plug in Denton, Jacob is your guy.
