TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Re: You Use 'you'? From:Michael LaTorra <mikel -at- ACCUGRAPH -dot- COM> Date:Wed, 8 Jun 1994 10:40:09 MDT
Derek Cheng asks:
"When does the use of the second person in documents hinder, and when does
it help?"
I think that using "you" helps with new readers/users because, when these
same people were in product training, oral instructions were always
given in the second person singular (e.g., "You can choose your printer
by ..."). This informal approach is valuable because, as you wrote, it
does convery "a personal, gentle, warm-fuzzy, wet-nose-doggy
feeling". Given the complexity of the products that our customers must
learn, any 'good feeling' helps the 'medicine go down', as it were.
I have carried over this usage to documentation. Has it helped? Maybe.
Has it hurt? No. There is no evidence that it has from any of the customer
feedback that I have gotten in face to face meetings or in writing.
Live long & prosper,
Mike LaTorra
Documentation Supervisor
Accugraph Inc.
mikel -at- huey -dot- accugraph -dot- com
......................................................................
The opinions expressed are my own, and not necessarily those of my
company -- but they probably should be.
......................................................................
