Building Plain Language From the Ground Up

Part V-Writing That Works

By Cheryl Stephens

Writing seems a solitary pursuit. But there is always an audience. Sometimes it is difficult to picture the readers, and to speak to their particular interests and tastes. So, how can you know that your intended message will be well-received by your intended audience? Answer: test your writing on the readers.

Usability testing is the means to evaluate whether your audience gets your message.

When you evaluate your communication, you find out whether your writing "works". It needs to "work" if its purpose is to provide:

Information
Instruction
Procedure
Notice

When is testing important?

Some writing is easy to evaluate. If your employees can't understand and follow your safety procedures, they will be hurt. If someone can't follow the instructions for opening a bottle of aspirin, they can't get relief. But what about the messages that aren't so easy to measure?

What about:

When someone can't program their VCR or voicemail?
When you are providing information on changes in legislation?
When you are advising people of the action they need to take to protect their own interests?

The repercussions of poor communication here may not be so immediate or so personal. But how important is customer goodwill, the public good, or people's right to information? To measure success in these examples, you need feedback from your audience or "users".

How do you test a document?

Usability testing can take many forms. Sometimes you give a quiz to measure comprehension. Sometimes you test using surveys, focus groups, or performance tests. Each technique is appropriate in different situations and each has a specific methodology.

Choosing the proper method, you can test your word choices, tone and style, or clarity. You find out whether the information is necessary or useful. You learn whether the format is appropriate. You find out whether the graphics are helpful or annoying.

Performance tests evaluate whether your readers can do what you are asking them to do with the information you have given. For example: fill out forms, use new software, get a do-it-yourself divorce, or decide if a regulation applies to them.

In recent years, focus groups have been the most common form of market research and testing of documents. A focus group brings a small group of people together to discuss a topic or comment on a document. A moderator facilitates the discussion.

Focus groups are most effective when you are working out the concepts and researching your audience. The results of focus groups do not provide you with a consensus of opinion but they can provide a clearer understanding of feelings and attitudes toward your document or project.

What are the origins of testing?

The science of usability testing has roots in product-testing for the marketplace. The basic principles also apply in evaluating communications. By including usability testing in your projects, you provide a tool for measuring your success.

When you test, you also communicate to your audience that you care that they understand or find value in your writing. So usability testing doesn't just evaluate whether your message was received as intended; it can also foster good will. Testing becomes a consultation process through which you gain the support of your audience.

Now that we have examined usability testing, you know why you should do it, when you should do it, and how you can do it. You can try informal methods or research the methods used in other situations. So, if you want to make sure your writing "works," test it!