Written Message Testing
How to get rid of gobbledygook from your writing
You know what gobbledygook is! It is the letters, emails and official documents that businesses and goverments send to their customers. The big question is ‘why do businesses do this?’…
Work voice is a style of writing common in workplaces
Which is where it belongs Work voice is a formal, impersonal and somewhat ponderous writing style that people who work in corporate offices or government departments use when writing to…
The ONE reason why business writers use jargon, and how to fix it
Jargon: everyone hates it but most of us use it. Why is that? Jargon is the technical language that makes sense to people in a particular speciality or company but…
Why reading is like running
Here is a short video I made about how reading is like running. If you test your content with users, your readers will not feel like this. https://youtu.be/FbbIB1C1sys Reading is…
What content testing is and when you need it.
Content testing (also called ‘message testing’) is a research method similar to user testing but it focusses exclusively on content – usually written content. Content testing tells you whether your…
Do you feel that plain language is for other people?
Whenever I see ‘plain language’ mentioned in the media – such as stories about the recent Plain Language Bill passed by the New Zealand parliament – there is always a…
The 3 things to consider when testing written content
Content testing is one of our most popular services. We test lots of written communications from landing Pages, Letters, Fact Sheets to Usage Instructions and Packaging Labels, digital and in…
Don’t test written content in focus groups
Do you want to know if your written content is working well? Then test it in one-on-one interviews, not in a group environment. I love focus groups, especially the in-person…
