November 26, 2020
Reduce Amount of On-screen Text
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November 26, 2020
Reduce Amount of On-screen Text
(Previously InstructionalRy) In short, I'm an Instructional Designer who is passionate about empowering others by presenting consumable content with appropriate presentation methods and solid adult learning theory! Imagine WANTING to learn more or perform better, yet the available instructions don't allow that opportunity...yeah, I rather not imagine that either :-).
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To reduce cognitive overload, it can be helpful to reduce the amount of initial content that displays to include graphics/images and text. Below are a few methods I use to reduce the amount of on-screen content (more specifically text) for a better learning experience.

Click to Reveal or Replace
The logic behind this is to only have content visible when the user triggers it via a click of an object such as a button or icon. The trigger can either make content visible as an overlay (i.e. a popup) or have content appear and replace (or fill) a reserved area.

*Blank with Nothing Clicked
Picture1

*Reveals Content Once First Icon is Clicked [Click to Replace]
Picture2

*Reveals Content Once Second Icon is Clicked, Replacing Any Before It [Click to Replace]
Slide2

*Reveals the Content for both the First AND Second Icons Once Clicked [Click to Reveal]Picture3

Other Click to Reveal/Replace Variations

  1. Accordion: Click title/topics to expand the display of corresponding content (typically displays below the clicked title/topic)
  2. Tooltips: Hover or click a triggered object (button, key term, etc.) to display additional content
  3. Tabs: Click of a tab reveals the corresponding information in the associated reserved area
  4. Pagination: Much like tabs, pagination offers a concise presentation of content in a reserved area that corresponds to the number (button) clicked to reveal content
  5. Timeline/Roadmap: Timelines are commonly used to provide audiences linear content (i.e. process steps, historic timeline, etc.) and in many ways resemble tooltips.

Branching [Menu]
Branching allows content to “branch off” and segment content with one central location by an umbrella topic or category.

It’s less common when referring branching, but branching may intend to reveal content on the same page/slide, but more often a new page/slide is used to display content. Branching can be beneficial if presentation needs involve larger amounts, or more detailed content.

Convert Text to Other Media Type
Visual cues can help to reduce text as well. For example, icons and symbols may be used to compliment and further support smaller amounts of text.

More efficient media use may involve creating visual content from the initial [text] content provided to include video, infographics and illustrations, or interactive content that helps to embed the learner (ex. interactive video and virtual or augmented reality).

2 Comments
2020-11-27 10:40:12
2020-11-27 10:40:12

These are some helpful tips to keep in mind to reduce the amount of text on screen and make your slides more interactive and visual for the user. Thanks for sharing!

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Ishan Mukherjee
's comment
2020-11-27 14:07:36
2020-11-27 14:07:36
>
Ishan Mukherjee
's comment

So happy you like them!

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