Why UX Writers Have to Learn to Be Less Polite

Because you don’t want anything distracting from your message

When I was very young, one of the books I can remember reading all the time was Richard Scarry’s “Please and Thank You Book.” Do you remember this one? This is the book’s description: the animal residents of Busytown learn useful lessons about manners, thoughtfulness, and caring. Since I’ve been a UX writer, I’ve had to unlearn those lessons. It’s not because I’m trying to be a bad person. It’s because a lot of that polite language can get in the way of a good user experience.

Stick to the principles

A UX writer looks at copy through the lens of these three core principles:

• It needs to be clear.
• It needs to be concise.
• It needs to be useful.

You may think you are being friendly by saying “please” and “thank you,” but does it follow any of these principles?. Think about how many times you ask someone to perform an action on your website. If you start adding “please” and “thank you” every time you want a user to perform an action, that will get out of hand quickly. When you are dealing with people who have limited attention spans and are just scanning your website on their phones, it’s important to be concise. That’s why websites say “username” instead of “please enter your username.” Use the minimum number of words you can to get across what the user needs to do.

The same goes for “thank you.” When you order a cup of coffee on a mobile app, what information do you need to confirm that your order went through? Probably a short message that says they received your order for a latte, and it’s going to be ready at 8:30 a.m. Your users aren’t looking for a thank you for giving you their business. So why put it in your copy?

Of course, there are occasions where you do want to express gratitude to your users. Say they just made a generous donation to your business. A thank you in that scenario is welcome. If you are in the habit of over-thanking, that lessens the impact when you do show gratitude.

“Good UX writing means never having to say you’re sorry”

That paraphrased quote from the movie “Love Story” may be a little extreme. But let’s talk about the word “sorry.” A good place to start is sociologist Maja Jovanovic’s TED Talk on the issue. She asserts that when we constantly apologize for something, it can make us appear more timid and less confident. Think about when you go out to eat. Do you want a server who’s saying “I’m sorry” all the time?

“I’m sorry to keep you waiting.”

“I’m sorry your order is taking longer than expected.”

“I’m sorry, we’re out of the tiramisu.”

An experience like this doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence in that restaurant. Similarly, a user won’t have a lot of confidence in your website if you are repeatedly apologizing.

If you’re going to use the word “sorry” in your copy, be very judicious about it. Save it for instances when you are at fault for a bad experience. Don’t apologize for something that is out of your control.. Remember that your user is probably scanning your site, and when they see the word “sorry” they’re going to assume you did something wrong that’s keeping them from where they want to go.

As UX writers, we have to focus on progressing the user and navigating around roadblocks. Instead of saying “sorry, we’re out of iPhones,” focus on moving the user forward. What’s the next step we can get them to take? Maybe it’s getting them to reserve an iPhone so they can get one as soon as it’s back in stock. If you’re able to spin what could be a negative into a positive, you’re more likely to keep that user around and improve your conversion rates.

Get right to the message

Cutting out polite language, or any unnecessary words, comes back to one thing: we need to get right to the message. One good practice as a UX writer is to look at a piece of copy and see how many words you can remove without changing the message. You’d be surprised how few words it takes for someone to understand what you are trying to get them to do. Try it yourself: go to one of your favorite websites and see how many unnecessary words you can find. It’ll make you a better writer.