Three somewhat unpleasant but minor issues crossed my laptop screen yesterday.
- I am on the board of directors of an organization and was emailed six voluminous proposals (by the same person) for a major project that we were considering funding.
- I tried to respond to a digital polling question and while the choices were limited, I was given an opportunity to provide my own comments. When I tried, I wasn’t allowed to because I am not a registered member of the group that sent me the poll. The poll did not say it was restricted.
- I tried to read a blog on a topic I am very interested in, that was so complicated and mired with details unrelated to the big picture subject matter that I gave up way before finishing it.
These are unrelated instances, and were 3 out of about 30 or 40 miniscule daily demands on my time. Those I have an interest in, I try to scan quickly. Those I have no interest in I delete. The problem is that everything takes time and it is pretty unproductive time except for what little is added to my data base of knowledge in my brain. Even allowing 15 seconds a view this is 10 minutes out of my day, assuming I do it once a day. If I spread it out it would probably take more than the 15 seconds per view because of the restart and gathering of momentum.
My numbers might not be similar to yours, but you should be getting the point that I look at a lot of emails that look like they have some promise. There are hundreds more that I just pass over not even taking the time to delete. On some level there is a competition for my time and attention and the slightest addition of effort makes it a no-go. Of course the important ones get my attention.
These three are examples of wasted opportunities by these email originators. They created roadblocks, made looking at their messages difficult and certainly not user friendly and even got me a little annoyed that I had an initial interest and then abandoned it. To their detriment, that annoyance will be transferred to further emails they send that I will just pass over.
Now, what could have been done differently? In the email to the board members, I needed that information to be informed at the meeting, but the process of downloading and printing the six files would take at least 10 minutes. This is a process that the other board members would also repeat. Contrarily, the sender could have combined the six files in one PDF in a matter of a few minutes. His desire to save himself these few minutes would cause the people he was trying to convince to spend a collective hour. That is inconsiderate and had his project delayed because of his failure to make it easy to access. He was not user-friendly.
The person that created the polling question failed to test it. I am not sure how many responses he missed out on, but he certainly didn’t get mine, and he lost me for his next few emails…at least. A quick test by him would have eliminated the problem. He did not make sure he had his act together. Not user-friendly.
The blog I tried to read was written by two college professors that also had a business consulting practice. I don’t know who they intended to impress, but the blog seemed like it wasn’t written in any type of language that could be understood. I logged off pretty quickly. People think that fancy words and flourishes in their paragraphs impress. Rather, being clearly understood while transferring important information impresses and also creates a welcomed resource. In my opinion, these two professors are amateurs, and I am glad I never had anyone like them.
Being understood and user-friendly makes it easy for people to read what you produce and to look for you when they want to know something. Obfuscation obscures your endeavoring to get acquiescence. Write so you are easily understood. Be user-friendly.
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