Have you ever felt like differences in language were holding your organization back? Perhaps you have tried to standardize language across parts of your organization only to find you have opened a huge can of worms? The experiences we make for our users are made of language choices. We also depend on language to collaborate with the people we work with. Yet language is most often only tended to when you talk about things like content and copy. Controlling your organization’s vocabulary is one of the murkiest messes we can take on, but it also might be one of the most impactful ways we can help our organizations. In this talk Abby Covert, staff information architect at Etsy, will share with us the strategies and tactics they are using to pay closer attention to language choices they make across both internal and external user experiences.

1. Language
Your Most Important
and Least Valued Asset
Abby Covert | @Abby_the_IA

2. Language

3. Language
a complex system used for communication

4. Language
a complex system used for communication

5. Content =
Information

6. Content

7. Language Meaning
Communicates
is interpreted from
Context
Intention

8. For our content to create
the “right” Information -
Our Language choices must
1. Be ConteXt Aware
2. Project Our Intention

9. Have you
ever been
misunderstood?

10. Misinformation
one of the most corrosive materials in existence

11. TRUST CONVERSION LOYALTY SATISFACTION
The introduction of misinformation impacts all important metrics of success

12. Misinformation
is the single biggest villain in most organizations

13. Misinformation
99.999999 % of instances of
are caused by issues of language

14. 3 language
mistakes
that lead to misinformation

15. Vague
Language
1

16. Where vague
language is common
• Marketing Copy
• Error Messages
• Confirmation Messages
• Instructional Content
• Icons

17. Vagueness can
also occur in how we
classify things

18. More
Other

19. Discover
learn
explore
Beware of Vague Verbs

20. Sometimes we are
intentionally
vague --
but unintentionally
misunderstood

21. “...someone will answer
your email soon”

22. Proprietary
Language
2

23. When we create
content that relies
on our audience to
have prior
understanding of
what we are
communicating we
are taking a risk.

24. "Confusement - by @lmanul
For example: Product & feature names

25. It is a delicate
balance
Wanting a creative name
that stands out in a
crowded market
Using names that make sense
and can be integrated into a
user’s life

26. Language
for the
wrong
audience3

27. Ways of serving the
wrong audience
• Grade or Reading level
• Tone or Style
• Metaphors or Aphorisms

28. Have you ever received a
document that feels
completely unintelligible for
your purposes?

29. Linguistic
insecuritY

31. Shout Out to the
team who worked
on the New
Zealand
Government
Toolkit!

32. language is
inherently messy

33. 3 ways to
wrangle
language

34. Reconcile
Mental
Models
1

35. Our mental
model impacts
everything we
believe about
the world
around us

36. How many
vegetables are
on this slide?

37. Scientifically
there are 7

38. on a Typical
grocery store
app, there are 14

39. Reconciling =
Collection

40. Coworkers
are users too

42. Understand
Context
2

44. Context
is the circumstances that surround an interaction

45. Flapjack
In the USA In the UK In New Zealand

47. Sometimes what
feels like a
friendly tone in
one language can
be taken as
inappropriate in
another language
Etsy Circa 2015

48. Understanding
Context
Reconciling
Mental Models
Meeting people where they are

50. Control
Your
Vocabulary
3

51. Writing definitions
forces us to talk about
the messiness inherent
in language

52. Start with Nouns,
followed by Verbs

53. People
Who is involved in
the system?
Features or Places
What pieces does the
system have?
Paths
What might people look
to accomplish?
Where to look
for nouns

54. Tasks & Actions
What can users do
in the system?
User Goals
What do users come
here to accomplish?
Opposing Action
How do actions get
undone?
Where to look
for Verbs

55. Beware of
adjectives

56. Get ready to get
more messy before
you clean it up

58. Clearly illustrate
the impact of
keeping it messy

59. Exercise Idea:
Define every term within a definition

60. 60
h$p://6thfloor.blogs.ny3mes.com/2011/05/20/words-we-dont-say/
H/t Kurt Anderson
Exercise Idea:
Make a list of words
you don’t say

61. 61
Exercise Idea:
draw pictures to define a
concept

62. Elements of a Successful
Controlled Vocabulary
• Definition that references nested
definitions
• Visual representation of how the
concept being defined relates to
nested definitions
• Approved synonyms and context in
which those are appropriate
• Historical context
• Strategic Considerations and Notes
• Examples
• Related Terms
= redacted details to hide identity of organization

63. Wrap Up
1. Look for and eliminate vague and proprietary language
2. Reconcile your mental model with your co workers’ and users’
3. Assure you understand your audience’s context
4. Take steps towards controlling your vocabulary
63

64. I wrote a
book about
information
architecture
for everybody

65. Thanks!
65