7 documentation techniques rooted in empathy advocacy (and why they work)

Ryan Macklin is helping to slowly grow a sub-field of technical communication called "empathy advocacy," focusing on how neurobiology and psychology intersect with user behavior and reaction. Over the past two years of empathy advocacy work, he's found and worked out some principles and tricks to bring humanity to software documentation and UX content.

You'll learn about a basic framework for understanding human reactions and why people are rarely "rational." Building on that, Ryan shares why different techniques and approaches to content work well or poorly, including:

• Why FAQs mean well, but are terrible garbage fires!
• When to effectively use screenshots—they're a "sometimes food"
• How excluding information you think isn't necessary creates a "vicious void" that consumes distressed users

OUR SPEAKER
Ryan Macklin (he/they) is a UX content strategist at Google. He's held prior careers as a game designer and a software developer, and plays "will it blend?" with those backgrounds and his current career as a UX content strategist and tech writer. He's also a passionate neurodiversity advocate, constantly looking at accessibility from a cognitive standpoint, which drew him to participating and co-chairing the Good Docs Project.

When not writing or speaking, Ryan slowly works on the lifelong project of having a log home on a small plot of farmland in the upper midwest.

AGENDA
7:00 to 7:10 - Announcements and icebreakers
7:10 to 8:00 - Presentation and Q&A
8:00 to 8:30 - Optional breakout rooms by meetup. Stay a few minutes after the presentation to meet with your local Write the Docs meetup organizers and members to say hi to other people in your area!

SPONSORING MEETUPS
The Quorum program brings together various local Write the Docs meetup chapters that are in a common time zone to provide quarterly super meetups over Zoom throughout the year.

The New England meetup is hosting this month's Quorum event: https://www.meetup.com/ne-write-the-docs/

The following Canada/U.S. East Coast and Central meetups are also sponsoring this Meetup event:

• Austin, TX - https://www.meetup.com/WriteTheDocs-ATX-Meetup/
• Detroit, MI/Windsor, CAN - https://www.meetup.com/write-the-docs-detroit-windsor/
• Florida - https://www.meetup.com/write-the-docs-florida/
• Philadelphia, PA - https://www.writethedocs.org/meetups/philly/
• Toronto, ON, CAN - https://www.meetup.com/Write-The-Docs-Toronto/https://www.meetup.com/Write-The-Docs-Toronto/
• Washington, D.C. - https://www.meetup.com/Write-the-Docs-DC/

NOTE
This meeting will be recorded. Also be advised that the Zoom room for this meeting is capped at 100 attendees. If more than 100 individuals RSVP for the event, only the first 100 attendees who enter the Zoom room will be able to attend.