3 times in the past 2 days, I've been asked for my advice by a colleague on a writing problem. And it goes something like this: the colleague describes the problem to me, while I listen. And at appropriate points I do one of three things:
* Say, "What do you think is the most important thing to communicate to the user here?"
* Say, "So, what I think you're proposing is this..." and sketch something on a whiteboard or a sheet of paper.
* Say, "It seems to me you have two logical options here: A or B. Which do you think would work better?"
At the end of the conversation, they always tell me that I've been very helpful. And I suppose I have been, but given that 90% of the ideas have come from the other person, I'm not sure if what I've offered is "advice", exactly.
* Say, "What do you think is the most important thing to communicate to the user here?"
* Say, "So, what I think you're proposing is this..." and sketch something on a whiteboard or a sheet of paper.
* Say, "It seems to me you have two logical options here: A or B. Which do you think would work better?"
At the end of the conversation, they always tell me that I've been very helpful. And I suppose I have been, but given that 90% of the ideas have come from the other person, I'm not sure if what I've offered is "advice", exactly.