3 communication theories that will help you write better microcopy (and make better products)

1. Your product communicates whether you like it or not

The theory: Watzalawick’s Axiom Theory

You can’t not communicate.

Mikael and Roman state in their book that even if you say nothing, you’re saying something. They explain it in the following way:

A man comes home, sits down, stares into space and is silent. His wife looks at him and asks him how he is. He says nothing — and yet he communicates something. It is immediately clear that something must have happened.

Relationships fail when you don’t communicate. The story above suggests a disconnect between the man and his wife. A lack of considered or designed communication in our products shows how disconnected we are from our users.

Microcopy is how your product communicates. It provides answers, feedback, comfort, guidance, encouragement and more. If we fail to design the words we use, this still communicates something to the user. It says we can’t or don’t want to help. It says we don’t care as much as we should. And that’s catastrophic for the customer experience.

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Could you imagine ever saying this in real life? If there’s an error, take the time to communicate it in plain English.

More than just leaving a bad taste in their mouth, your users will actually struggle to achieve what they set out to do. This isn’t about branding, this is usability.

Communication is key to usability.