There are so many brilliant, thoughtful reflections in this post on tense when referring to death by Lizzie Cass-Maran. But perhaps more than anything, this sentence is the one that really rings true.
Good content design comes from combining clarity and kindness.
Yes! This is exactly it. This is the very feeling I have in my waters when I go to work each day and try to put words in the right order. How can this piece of content be clearer? How can it be kinder to the person reading?
I like the word kind a lot. I think everybody instinctively knows what it means to be kind. I tell my children to be kind most days when I drop them off at school. Have fun. Be kind. See you later.
This shared understanding of kindness is why it's so important to speak to and understand your reader. How can you be clear and kind if you don't know what being unkind might look like to them? Or if you do not take the time to research the potential impact of your words?
Anyway, writing about death is absolutely the time to be as clear and kind as you possibly can. I haven't talked about it publicly, but I have spent almost the last two years working in this space. I was part of the team that helped set up the Infected Blood Compensation Authority.
I'm sure I will write about this experience over the coming months. But needless to say, it saw me work on some of the most challenging content I have ever had to write. At times, and especially when referring to death, it felt like the need to be clear made it harder to also be kind. Or as kind as perhaps I would have liked.
I suppose that's because although clarity and kindness are at the heart of good content design, they can sometimes feel at odds. Being clear can sometimes seem cold. Being kind can maybe confuse. It's a tough balance.
The good news? This piece by Cass-Maran is a brilliant place to start if you are dealing with any of these content challenges. Go read it now. And let me stew on the subject for maybe a later, longer, more thoughtful blog post.
