Is a “natural person” someone without makeup?
Is online shopping designed to help you hide your purchases from your spouse?
User testing experts Liezl van Zyl and Annie Burger-Boschoff have heard so many surprising ways audiences experience the world and they shared it with us our first webinar of 2025.
The discussion was a rich overview of user testing best practices with unique insights and experiences. They discussed practical strategies for effective user testing, how to approach testing with clear goals in mind, emphasizing the importance of understanding what you want to achieve and how the results will be used. They discussed practical techniques such as card sorting to understand how users naturally organize content and cloze testing to measure how well readers comprehend the text. They also addressed the importance of using real-world data to track the impact of improvements, like monitoring call center statistics to see if user queries have decreased.
Recruiting the right participants can be challenging, and the speakers stressed the need to avoid using colleagues or allowing users to self-select, as this can introduce bias. Whenever possible, involving external recruitment companies ensures a more neutral and reliable testing process. They also highlighted the need to adapt methods when dealing with diverse audiences, including those who may not be digitally literate.
Our panel
Liezl van Zyl is an information designer, plain language expert and co-founder of South African-based information design agency, Hey Plain Jane.
Annie Burger-Boshoff is a plain language practitioner, researcher and teacher with a passion for clear, kind communication.
