Recording of STC Berkeley presentation on why users can't find answers in help
A few weeks ago I gave a presentation to the STC Berkeley chapter on findability of help content. The recording is available here:
Download MP3 (right-click, then Save Link As)
For the slides, see Recording and slides for why users can't find answers in help. The link refers to the Silicon Valley chapter presentation of the same material -- the slides are the same, but the presentation to the Berkeley chapter (this recording) differed quite a bit given the audience feedback. (My presentation format involves presenting various problems to the audience and inviting them to provide solutions -- hence the difference in the presentations.)
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I wrote a post reflecting on some of the discussion here: A few things tech writers frequently say: Videos tedious, topics best when short, people just use Google, and more.
Note that there may be gaps of periodic silence during the presentation where someone is making a comment. In general I try to rephrase the comment, but I don't think I did a great job at it here. At any rate, the discussion here was quite a bit more interesting than the one at the Silicon Valley chapter, especially concerning topic length.
About Tom Johnson
I'm a technical writer / API doc specialist based in the Seattle area. In this blog, I write about topics related to technical writing and communication — such as software documentation, API documentation, visual communication, information architecture, writing techniques, plain language, tech comm careers, and more. Check out my API documentation if you're looking for more info about that. If you're a technical writer and want to keep on top of the latest trends in the field, be sure to subscribe to email updates. You can also learn more about me or contact me. Finally, note that the opinions I express on my blog are my own points of view, not that of my employer.