http://tc.eserver.org/dir/Persuasive-Design A listing of the most recently indexed works about Persuasive Design in the field of technical communication. en-us Copyright (c) 2005-08 by the EServer. All rights reserved. tclib-editorial@eserver.org (TC Library Editorial Board) webmaster@eserver.org (Geoffrey Sauer) http://tc.eserver.org/images/newlogo.gif http://tc.eserver.org/dir/Persuasive-Design http://tc.eserver.org/34811.html http://tc.eserver.org/34811.html Persuasion design embeds various forms of influence and “choice architectures” in products and services to maximize the likelihood of positive behavior change. The challenge for many product designers is that persuasion design can seem full of tricks that diminish the integrity of the designer. But this approach focuses on direct outcomes, not implicit goals as is so often the case with the UCD approach. http://tc.eserver.org/33481.html http://tc.eserver.org/33481.html In many of my columns, I have touted the importance of persuasive, or influential, content and shared relevant theories and arguments, sprinkling in some practical tips and examples along the way. This column brings together a collection of practical tips, or recipes, for persuasive content. http://tc.eserver.org/33434.html http://tc.eserver.org/33434.html My most recent captology course at Stanford focused on 10 ways computers manipulate people. In total, I've found about 60 strategies that software can use to change what people think and do. http://tc.eserver.org/33435.html http://tc.eserver.org/33435.html The best constructions out there do more than just arrange space so you can figure out where you can go; they are built to help you go where you need to go--as that is understood both by you and the architect--in a way that appeals and delights. http://tc.eserver.org/33436.html http://tc.eserver.org/33436.html Persuasive navigation is navigation that persuades a user to do something. That something can be anything that you want the user to do—buy a product, sign up for a newsletter, or download a game. By understanding user needs and matching them up with business goals, you can persuade users to go where you want them to go, making them happy at the same time. http://tc.eserver.org/33437.html http://tc.eserver.org/33437.html Whenever visitors land on your web site, they consciously or subconsciously deal with five issues until they're satisfied, or better yet, delighted. These five issues will either induce the visitor to take the action you want them to take, or a lack of satisfaction may push them to find a competitor. None of these five issues is easy to measure. None has objective factors that are easily influenced. But all are nonetheless key to converting visitors. http://tc.eserver.org/33438.html http://tc.eserver.org/33438.html Our lab has been investigating how computer-based narratives can change people's beliefs and behaviors. http://tc.eserver.org/33439.html http://tc.eserver.org/33439.html Computer technology opens new doors for researching, creating, and distributing WIN (interactivity and narrative) experiences. Increased insight in this area could create a potential to change people’s attitudes and behaviors in ways never before possible. For example, in researching WIN experiences, our online system can now test stories to identify which stories have an impact on specific types of people. Alternately in creating WIN experiences, a computer could glean information from an interaction in order to select a specific story from a large database of proven stories. From a distribution standpoint, WIN experiences could be delivered through mobile handsets, increasing reach beyond the desktop. The potential for impact is significant. Computer-supported WIN experiences could lead to large-scale interventions to improve health, enhance learning and training, boost workplace performance, and motivate participation in civic life. http://tc.eserver.org/33426.html http://tc.eserver.org/33426.html The aim of the Persuasive Design group on LinkedIn is to connect people that are interested in Persuasive Design across both industry and academia. Once or twice a year mails are send about conferences or events that might be of interest to persuasive designers. http://tc.eserver.org/33427.html http://tc.eserver.org/33427.html An easy way to define persuasive web design is to contrast it with usable design. Usability focuses on giving users the ability to complete a transaction if they so desire. A usable site makes it easy for users to complete transactions, from buying products to convincing users to read featured articles. Unfortunately, having a usable web site is not always enough to convince users to transact. Even if a user can complete a transaction on your site, doesn't mean that they will transact. To be successful, sites must go beyond Usability by focusing on Persuasive Design. http://tc.eserver.org/33428.html http://tc.eserver.org/33428.html Many users are highly motivated to complete tasks before they begin and before any external motivation is provided. In other words, usability can easily be an umbrella that covers persuasion. http://tc.eserver.org/33429.html http://tc.eserver.org/33429.html Changing people's attitudes and behaviors for the good could help us to make this world a better place. And turning this world into a better one is one of the key drivers for most of the usability people I know. Most of them don't advocate usability for the money; they want to help make things and consequently life easier. http://tc.eserver.org/33430.html http://tc.eserver.org/33430.html Persuasive design techniques focus on "getting the lead" or "closing the sale". Here are some techniques to help you do just that. http://tc.eserver.org/33431.html http://tc.eserver.org/33431.html Five proven techniques for powerful and effective marketing design. http://tc.eserver.org/33432.html http://tc.eserver.org/33432.html We love stories, recognise patterns in fractions of a second and have a set of highly developed social behaviours. In "Persuasive Design" Mike will be running through a collection of these hard-wired influence points and exploring how they can be used in the design of products, interfaces and experiences. http://tc.eserver.org/33433.html http://tc.eserver.org/33433.html Recently I attended a great presentation by Spencer Gerrol (Human Factors International) in Atlanta entitled “Beyond Usability: The Science of Persuasive Design”. Gerrol discussed how important it is to not only make our websites easy to use, but to make people want to use them. He then discussed 6 key principles we can use to persuade our customers as well as some important persuasion tactics to keep in mind. The presentation began with a brief discussion of the difference between usability and persuasion. http://tc.eserver.org/33385.html http://tc.eserver.org/33385.html Many design organizations seek to impact strategic decision-making by learning how to speak the language of business. But until they master these new skills, they are likely to be the least qualified people to discuss business strategy at the corporate decision-making table. Yet no one else at the table besides the design team has a complete set of design skills. http://tc.eserver.org/33247.html http://tc.eserver.org/33247.html Ethics is an important perspective from which to view computers as persuasive technologies. Adopting an ethical perspective on this domain is vital because the topic of computers and the topic of persuasion both raise important issues about ethics and values. http://tc.eserver.org/26457.html http://tc.eserver.org/26457.html The traditional design of presentation slides calls for a phrase headline supported by a bulleted list. Recently, many critics have challenged the effectiveness of this design. This article argues for a significantly different design that offers numerous advantages in most communication contexts but that is particularly well suited to technical presentations. Originating at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and refined in more than 400 critique sessions at Virginia Tech, this alternative design is characterized by a succinct sentence headline supported by visual evidence. What distinguishes this design from other visual -evidence designs are its specific layout and typography guidelines, which were chosen to make the communication efficient, memorable, and persuasive. Although more difficult to construct than the traditional design, the alternative design shows much promise as a more effective means of conveying technical information to various audiences. This article outlines the key advantages and challenges of using this design, and concludes by assessing attempts to disseminate this design through lectures, workshops, and the Web. http://tc.eserver.org/19237.html http://tc.eserver.org/19237.html The issue of accessible Web sites and legal arguments for providing them has seen much debate over the past eighteen months. In many countries across the world, anti-disability discrimination legislation has provided the acorn of an argument that service providers should provide their Web presence in a form that is accessible to the disabled community. However, like the World Wide Web Consortium’s Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), and its associated guidelines, the providers, and indeed the designers, of the majority of Web sites have by and large ignored these arguments. However, following a recent case in Australia, there is now a very persuasive legal argument for including Web accessibility in the scope of anti-disability legislation in the UK. It is the purpose of this article to review these arguments, consider their consequences for the Web sites of Higher and Further educational institutions and, finally, to consider how the recent Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 might extend these duties further. http://tc.eserver.org/14509.html http://tc.eserver.org/14509.html Constructivism is a cognitive theory stating that people construct understanding based on what they already know or understand and that more cognitively complex people can better take and understand others’ perspectives and hence, design more persuasive messages. As the key to proposal writing is persuasion, and the key to persuasion is understanding, applying this theory provides us a general strategy for all proposal writing: first, collect information to establish our own context-related constructs and interpretive schemes and to understand those of our reader; then, make all the writing decisions based on the understanding achieved. http://tc.eserver.org/14510.html http://tc.eserver.org/14510.html The Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) is a cognitive theory offering insights into persuasion and attitude change that technical communicators can apply to persuasive documents. The two routes to persuasion that ELM postulates (central and peripheral) closely parallel and expand a concept with which many technical communicators are familiar: attention and attraction in document design. By applying ELM to writing and designing marketing brochures, writers can identify and address the many variables that influence the central and peripheral route persuasion processes and, thereby, create more persuasive, effective documents. http://tc.eserver.org/14342.html http://tc.eserver.org/14342.html This course is designed to help you accomplish the following goals: To give you practice understanding, analyzing, and responding to writing situations. To help you recognize, learn and use persuasive strategies. To help you construct rhetorically effective arguments. To write to multiple audiences, recognizing and anticipating their differing needs. To recognize and use effectively different standard genres. To learn about and incorporate document design into your writing process.