With so many educational sessions packed into the UX Writer Conference ’21 June 8 – 9 event, you might be tempted to beeline it for the recordings and feel like you got everything. But before you do, peek at the chats too.
Take for example this string of texts about making copy both friendly and concise, culled from a public chat during the Deeper Dive session, Developing Better Copy.
Note: we replaced first and last names with initials to preserve privacy.
| Author | Text |
|---|---|
| H.G. | How do you make copy friendly with very limited screen space? In other words, friendly but few words? |
| K.P. | +1 to leaving "please"! |
| K.P. | leaving out* |
| K.G.(1) | Yes to dropping 'please' |
| K.G.(1) | Also, I believe you don't have to be chummy, just clear 🙂 |
| D.N. | We limit the use of "please" to instances where customers are inconvenienced, e.g. please restart your device. |
| K.P. | Good thinking, D.N. ! |
| T.C. | I think if it's a complete sentence, you need the full stop |
| H.G. | Is there research backing up that friendliness is annoying to users? I need to be able to prove it. |
| S.T. | I tend to agree T.C. |
| F.H. | Personally, I interpret "friendly" as "sounding like a normal person" |
| S.T. | ^^ YES F.H. |
| K.G.(2) | I struggle with this because "Please make a selection." seems so much nicer than "Make a selection." |
| F.H. | 👍 |
| K.G.(1) | I think we also need to define what friendly is. Adopting a human tone and being to-the-point is enough, depending on the brand. But being too flowery or even apologetic is rarely necessary if ever. |
| H.G. | Yes, I'm using "friendly" as "human tone" |
| F.H. | ^ K.G.(1) Totally |
| K.G.(1) | Level of politeness or formality is also dependent on the culture. |
| H.G. | great point, K.G.(1) |
| ### |
This is a wonderful exchange between colleagues, effectively crowdsourcing ideas among qualified practitioners. And it’s just one of several during the conference.
The exchange above is not just helpful from a professional development standpoint, it also underscores a subtle and extraordinary benefit to the online experience—an ability to capture valuable impromptu exchanges between professionals in real-time from, well, everywhere.
So, in short, when you check out the recordings, do yourself a favor and skim the chats too.
Preparations are underway for the UX Writer Conference ‘21 taking place online
October 5 – 6.
Learn more about the Call for Speakers and submit a proposal!
