Writing with empathy: how to make software human and relatable

@lmpcopywriter
Hello, NUX
Laura Parker, UX Writer

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UX writing and copywriting
• Similar, but a diﬀerent purpose  
— Copywriting is writing to sell 
— UX writing is writing to inform

• UX writing helps people interact with a product or service 
— UX copy includes buttons and menu labels, error messages, security notes, terms
and conditions, instructions.

• UX writers are also similar to content designers and technical writers  
— We’re all working to solve the same problem… 

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Problem: how do you make software
human and relatable?

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https://www.nngroup.com/articles/ui-copy/

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Keep a beginner’s mind
Don’t assume the user knows anything

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What’s a beginner’s mind?
• We create new things all the time  
— But we forget what it's like to be a new user.

• A new user might be anxious about using your product  
— Give them everything they need and nothing more.

• We know too much (curse of knowledge)  
— The more you know, the further you are from the beginner’s perspective.

• Users have existing expectations and behaviours 
— Don’t assume users will ﬁnd your product intuitive if they do the same thing diﬀerently
on other apps/websites.  

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A note about user anxiety
• User anxiety is when you don’t understand how to use something

• Writers can help users feel less anxious by  
— being obvious (keep a beginner’s mind) 
— using plain language  
— avoiding jargon (but if it’s useful, leave it in) 
— writing consistently (do we say ‘click’ or ‘tap’)
Monzo spending alert

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It helps to know how we read
• Our cognitive load (mental eﬀort) increases 11% for every 100 words

• We prefer high frequency words over low frequency words (use forums to
discover audience vocabulary)

• Users read about 20% of text on a page

• We guess what words mean by the shape of them, it’s called a saccade
rhythm (use words readers can skip using their natural saccade rhythm)

• Most people can recognise 15,000 words
— Jakob Nielsen, How little do users read
— Sarah Richards, Content Design

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Our eyes don’t see every letter in a word or every word in a sentence. Our eyes skip
along the text in small jumps called saccades.

After each saccade, our brain takes a snapshot and arranges the letters into words.
Those pauses are called ﬁxations.
— Jost Hochuli, Detail in Typography

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Empathy v humour
Writing with ﬂavour

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— Audible — https://uxdesign.cc/writing-clearer-error-messages

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— Slack — Trello — MailChimp

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Accessibility: writing with empathy
• Average UK reading age is 9-13 years

• 1.4 million people have a learning disability in the UK (source:
Mencap)

• Poor internet connection

• Busy people

• Physical injuries

“Getting to the point quickly has less to do with intelligence
and more to do with time and respect.”
— Sarah Richards, Content Design

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Not all disability is visible

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github.com/
UKHomeOﬃce/posters

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microsoft.com/en-us/
accessibility

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http://actiondeafness.org.uk/product/deaf-awareness-posters/

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Brands play it safe with their humour, and not safe enough
with their empathy. If your writing is genuinely funny, go for it.
But do it with all users in mind.

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Balancing empathy and humour
• Have a moment with the reader  
— Use empathy to ﬁnd when a user is having a moment, and be a part of it.

• Keep a beginner’s mind 
— Skip the what and go directly to the why. Focus on why your product is useful.

• Use simple, everyday language  
— It helps everyone, especially those with a visual impairment, dyslexia or anxiety.

• People don’t ﬁnd the same things funny 
— Humour is risky.

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— Andrew Schmidt, Slack

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Clients do this

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Working with designers
Your most important working relationship

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Because…
• You share the same problems  
— “I need answers to this, this and this before I can start.”

• You ask (roughly) the same questions 
— “Who am I writing/designing for? What’s the purpose? Brand guidelines?”

• And, you make things together 

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Most designers have never  
worked with a writer

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How to work with designers
• Give them your copy in advance  
— Don’t leave it till the last minute to send your copy. Think about the design deadline too.

• Send copy in a text ﬁle, Pages, or anything else but MS Word 
— Ever watched a designer try to open a Word doc? Most designers don’t use MS Word.

• Ask for feedback 
— Feedback can only improve your work.

• Celebrate their moments of copy greatness  
— A designer wrote some of my favourite copy, don’t be jealous.  

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Done is better than perfect

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Problem: how do you make software
human and relatable?

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@lmpcopywriter
Answer: write honestly using  
simple language

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• Keep a beginner’s mind 
— What’s obvious to you won’t be the same for your audience. 
— Make your audience feel less anxious by using high frequency words.

• Be empathetic and cautious with humour 
— People with autism might not understand metaphors or idioms. 
— Don’t risk simplicity for the sake of a joke.

• Work better with designers  
— It’s not them and us, we’re in it together. 
— work in short stints and communicate.

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UX copy tips
• Avoid negative contractions (can’t’, ‘won’t’, ‘don’t)  
— Some people rely on reading the ‘not’ to understand what is being said.

• Be obvious and literal 
— Short descriptions are not always better if critical information is missing or there's no context.
• Use ‘today,’ ‘yesterday’ or ‘tomorrow’ instead of a date 
— People don’t use the date when they refer to the day before the present day.

• Avoid long blocks of text 
— Look at your work on a mobile to check spacing.

• Use high frequency words 
— High frequency words are easy to skip using the saccade rhythm.  

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@lmpcopywriter
People with learning disabilities are experts on accessible information.
They know what works for them and what does not. It is common sense to
involve the people you are trying to communicate with in your work process.
Involve people with learning disabilities from the very beginning.
https://www.changepeople.org/getmedia

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Thanks!

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People to follow 
Andrew Schmidt (senior product writer at Slack): https://www.andrewschmidt.net  
Jared Spool (UX genius): https://www.uie.com @jmspool 
Craig Wright (tech writer): https://straygoat.co.uk 
Erika Hall (designer): https://muledesign.com @mulegirl 
Caio Braga (product designer) https://caioab.com @caioab 
Paul Boag (UX expert): https://boagworld.com @boagworld

Links to click  
Readability Guidelines: https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org 
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines: https://www.w3.org 
Rules of Effective UX Writing: https://uxplanet.org/16-rules-of-effective-ux-writing-2a20cf85fdbf 
The Unusable podcast: https://podcast.theunusable.com 
Content Design London: http://contentdesign.london 
Microsoft accessibility kit: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-gb/style-guide/welcome/ 
UK Home Office accessibility posters: https://github.com/UKHomeOffice/posters/blob/master/accessibility/ 
UX Collective: https://uxdesign.cc 
UK disability facts and figures: http://www.craigabbott.co.uk/accessibility-is-not-an-edge-case

Cartoons by webcomicname.com

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@lmpcopywriter
Web 
lauramarieparker.com 
 
Email 
[email protected] 
 
Twitter 
@lmpcopywriter

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Writing with empathy: how to make software human and relatable

Writing with empathy: how to make software human and relatable

Laura Parker

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