Clear Communication Archives - Page 5 of 9

More on confusing technology

This week I've encountered yet another situation when technology seems to get in the way and complicate communication, rather than making things more simple I've come away with a real sense that the technology interface is being used because it can be, not because it's usefulThis story is about the renewal of my business name, Information Design Centre Until recently, business names were registered at the state level Every 3 years, I received an invoice for the registration, which was easy to...

All care and no responsibility

Last week I was in Port Douglas (eclipse watching, of course) There are warning signs everywhere - mostly about crocodiles and marine stingersThis warning sign, at Mossman Gorge, grabbed my attention:I like the way that the sign acknowledges that people will swim and acknowledges the ability of people to make decisions about their safetySo often, in places like this, you come across simple statements like 'don't swim here' or 'swimming here is dangerous' Instead, this sign clearly explains what...

Using the 3rd person with children

Why do people refer to themselves in the third person when they're talking to childrenThis week I listened to a conversation between a mother and son while they were collecting new glasses from the optometrist The son looked to be about 8, and was being told that he should clean his glasses every night The mother said something like:'You'll give them to Mummy every night, like your sister does, and Mummy will clean them for you Mummy can look after them'Presumably the boy is used to the...

The Enforcement side of the ‘3E’s

I've always thought that the Three Es theory of social marketing is a useful way of thinking about behaviour change The three Es are education, enforcement, and engineering -- and behaviour change is most likely to be successful when the three Es all work togetherThis week I saw an interesting version of engineering -- presumably being used because education and enforcement weren't having the desired effectThe engineering that's happening here is that pedestrians are prevented from...

Home Page or Front Page?

I'm noticing a shift away from the term 'home page' as the name for the entry page of a website It's starting to be called a 'front page'I wonder whether this reflects the way that websites are becoming just another form of public communication - one that sits alongside other communication media rather than being something quite different Are we beginning to apply print/book terminology to websites as the different communication media begin to mergeOr is it that 'front page' better describes...

Help readers to draw the conclusion you intend

Here's another example of a sign that expects readers to draw the right conclusion:It appears outside my local McDonald's, which is currently undergoing renovationThe problem with this sign, from my perspective, is that it doesn't make the conclusion clear for readers Why should people use the drive through And what is the link between drive through and renovationsAnd, if I want to get picky, why use the awkward 'due to', which makes the whole thing seem so stuffyMaybe the...

Euphemism at the shops … we can’t talk about price increases

There was a lovely little sign at my local supermarket yesterday wish I'd had the sense to photograph itIt was next to the price tag for tomatoes, and went something like this:Due to unseasonably dry weather in the growing regions, tomatoes are in short supply This has caused prices to firm We apologise for any inconvenienceTo me, a 'firm' price is a stable one - a price that's unlikely to change quickly But, of course, in this situation, 'firm' is a euphemism for 'increase' (actually,...

Creating intrigue to capture attention

Sometimes it makes sense to intrigue an audience A cover that's a bit cryptic and says 'can you guess what I'm about' might be just what's needed to persuade the audience to take notice - particularly in a cluttered environment when audiences don't know that you have something interesting to sayBut intrigue only works when there's a pay-off There needs to be a moment of discovery - when the audience makes the connection and realises the logic behind the message That's the moment when the...

Electronic communication gone mad

There are times when I feel that we've entered an era of electronic communication madness - when we communicate electronically, not because it's helpful, but because we canLast week I conducted a research interview in a coffee shop This is something that I do quite often, and I always ask for a receipt for my purchasesAt this coffee shop, I was told that they don't provide paper receipts any more Instead, they could email my receipt to me So, I waited patiently while the staff member fiddled...