Re: Another tragic case of not reading the manual

[Kevin Cheek <cheek1 -at- sbcglobal -dot- net>]

This is why I consider the instructions that come with the small Lego
kits to be such a brilliant example of technical writing. They know
that much of their audience is too young to read. Therefore, the
instructions contain no words. The steps are broken down so that my
daughter could follow them correctly at the age of three. They are
clear and to the poing enough that I feel no shame following them
even though (arguably) I can read.

There are places, such as Lego instructions, airline safety cards,
and heavy equipment warnings, when it is best to assume that your
audience either can not or will not read. 

Best,

Kevin Cheek
(just looking at the pictures)


--- joanne grey <j_grey -at- writeangles -dot- com> wrote:
> Years ago, a construction company paid me to rewrite the manuals 
> supplied by equipment manufacturers. Their workers were primarily 
> non-English speakers and rarely educated beyond past 7th grade. The
> company management wanted to make sure that ALL of their employees 
> could understand how to use the equipment safely. This came about 
> after some workers wandered onto a hazardous area because they 
> couldn't tell what the warnings said.
> 
> The rewrites were quite a lesson for me, too, both in terms of the 
> material and of usability/understanding my audience.