When you’re reading over your documentation, does it sound like a robot wrote it? I’m sure mine does.

One of the benefits of starting on a new project is that I can try out new things. This time around, one of those things will be a more relaxed style using contractions. I thought of this because when I’m writing other things, such as a journal entry or creative piece, I tend to use contractions. They’re a natural part of speaking. So as I was writing some help, I started to include some contractions without even thinking about it.

I caught myself, but I asked Tom‘s opinion on the subject. He’s in favor of using contractions in documentation, making the point that when you have a frustrated user, he or she is going to want to talk to a person, not a robot. Therefore, make your documentation sound like it comes from a real person.

Something like using contractions is so simple, but I got the idea from somewhere that contractions are illegal in formal writing (must have been in kindergarten—I think that’s where I learned everything that I can’t remember where I learned it). I’m going to let myself write more naturally and see if that results in more user-friendly help.

Then I, with Pinocchio, will be able to say, “I’m a real boy!”

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