News & Views How Good Are Your Online Communication Skills?
News & Views Feature Article


by Saul Carliner, Executive Vice President,
Fredrickson Communications, Inc.
(Minneapolis, Minnesota)

Originally published March, 1996 in News & Views and other STC publications.

Copyright 1996 STC-Philadelphia Metro Chapter. For permission to reprint this article, contact the Managing Editor.


Seems almost every information developer is going online these days. We write tutorials, help systems, online references, Web pages, and news pieces. But how on-target are our online communication skills? More specifically, how on-target are your skills for communicating information online?

Take the following "challenge" and find out. Although admittedly unscientific, this test assesses your ability to handle many issues that arise when communicating online. To take the test, first, answer the ten questions. Then, follow the instructions in the scoring section to determine your score and find out what that score means.

1. The primary tool for communicating online is:

(a) words
(b) pictures
(c) sounds
(d) words and pictures

2. My primary means of receiving the news is:

(a) newspaper
(b) radio
(c) television
(d) online service, such as the LA Times Online

3. Liz is planning her holiday baking. Using her word processor, she puts all of the recipes online. She links her word processing file with a spreadsheet file, which automatically creates a master shopping list, including items and quantities. Liz is:

(a) anal-retentive
(b) making unnecessary work for herself
(c) somewhat creative, if a bit eccentric
(d) being extremely efficient

4. In the beginning of your computer-based training course, you instruct users to type a response, then press Enter. In the fifth unit, you just instruct users to type their responses. What's happening here?

(a) Users do not need to press Enter, so you did not tell them to do so.
(b) You goofed. You meant to say, "Then press Enter," but forgot to write it.
(c) By the fifth unit, users should have figured out that they need to press Enter after typing a response.
(d) The editor should have caught the error.

5. You're writing a help system and are planning to describe each screen in the application. What do users really need in the descriptions?

(a) Step-by-step instructions on what they need to do on that screen.
(b) A description of each field on the screen.
(c) a and b.
(d) Nothing, unless users are supposed to do something on the screen.

6. You've encountered a description of a screen that says, "Displays the current status of a customer order." Ever the critical reader, you think:

(a) Hmm, well written.
(b) Sounds a little jargon-y.
(c) Don't like a description that starts with a verb, sounds too informal.
(d) The word current is unnecessary.

7. Authoring is:

(a) The primary skill needed for online communication.
(b) Synonymous with writing.
(c) A secondary skill needed for online communication.

8. The best place to display key information on a full-screen panel is:

(a) in the center
(b) in the upper left corner
(c) in the upper right corner
(d) anywhere, as long as users can easily find it

9. You are writing an online user's guide for government regulations. Before users can apply the regulations, they need to understand some background concepts. You decide to structure the user's guide as a:

(a) hierarchy, in which users go through a series of menus until they reach the desired point.
(b) web, in which users can read any piece of information at any time
(c) path, in which users go through a sequence in the order you intend

10. You're an information developer for a science museum. One of the elements of your Web page is a calendar of events. How do you present the events?

(a) In the month-at-a-glance pattern. Users click on a date, then read the details.
(b) As a series of icons. Each icon represents a different event. Users click on an icon to get more information.
(c) As a list, in which events are listed in a text list, in order of date.
(d) As a list, in which events are listed in a text list, by category.

Checking your skills

Award yourself points as follows:

1. a-1 b-4 c-1 d-2
2. a-1 b-1 c-2 d-4
3. a-1 b-1 c-3 d-4
4. a-1 b-4 c-1 d-1
5. a -2 b-1 c-3 d-4
6. a-4 b-2 c-1 d-2
7. a-1 b-1 c-4
8. a-4 b-1 c-1 d-2
9. a-1 b-2 c-4
10. a-4 b-4 c-1 d-1

Then determine your category:

31-40. An Online Author. You're aware of the unique characteristics of the online medium and can write material in a way that takes best advantage of the medium.

21-30. Almost Online. You're aware that the online medium has some unique characteristics and are still working to take full advantage of them.

20 and below. Working Your Way Out of Print. You're still in "print mode," and need to become more fully aware of the unique characteristics of communicating online.

Five ways to build your online communication skills

Building skills in online communication is much like building other communication skills. You develop a basic repertoire of skills, then continually add to your "bag of tricks." Each person learns differently, however, so the combination of experiences that build skills for one person might substantially differ from what builds your own skills. The skills needed to communicate online include:

  • Communicating visually rather than verbally. Like the television and film, the computer is a visual medium rather than a verbal one. The primary responsibility for communicating lies with images. As a result, we need to enhance our visual communication skills.

  • Communicating in a dialogue rather than in formal text. Because the computer is an interactive machine, users interact with it in a way that's similar to interacting with other humans. As a result, we structure online information differently than printed information and use a grammar and style more akin to speaking.

  • Using the intelligence of the computer. The computer can perform a lot of work once required of the user, if only we let it. As a result, we need to learn to use the information users provide the computer to get users information more efficiently and effectively.

  • Reading online information. We can only fully empathize with our readers when we become readers of online information ourselves and use it as a primary source of news, instructions, and the like.

With this in mind, consider using one or more of these approaches to building your skills for communicating online.

  • Read online information. Take online courses. Get your news from online sources. Read online help.

  • Read source books. Several books are available on online information. One of the most widely read is William Horton's Designing and Writing Online Information (John Wiley and Sons), now in its second edition. (See the book review on page 19.)

  • Read trade magazines. STC publications, including this newsletter, Intercom, our professional magazine, and Technical Communication, our professional journal, each provide information on various aspects of communicating online. You might also check other trade publications, such as New Media and Wired, which discuss techniques for communicating online and related philosophies, as well as case studies of effective online projects.

  • Attend seminars and conferences. Seminars provide you with opportunities to develop specific skills in-depth; conferences introduce you to a variety of topics of interest. For example, the upcoming STC Annual Conference in Seattle features several sessions on online communication.

  • Tackle an online project. Like most practical skills, the only way to truly develop skills in communicating online is by preparing online information. Ideally, you would develop these skills in a work-related situation. If that is not possible, offer to develop materials for a nonprofit organization. Your STC chapter, for example, might need assistance with its Web page.

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s Last updated: November 8, 1996 (rst)