A short publication that would have saved you a lot of time if you bothered to read it. However,
reading an instruction manual before attempting to assemble/use the product with which it came is a sure sign of mental and physical weakness.
Manuals come free with purchases of self-assembly furniture, electronic products, children’
s toys and many, many other products.
Some of these products are so simple to use, (eg. A padlock) that a
55 page, multi-lingual, fully referenced brochure doesn’t really seem necessary
When writing an instruction manual, follow these simple rules and you can’t fail;
1. Make the pages from stiff, shiny
paper so that it’ll only stay open at the right page with the help of a rock, a
toolbox and a dining room
table positioned on each corner.
2. Make an extensive ‘Contents Page’ using the smallest font available and ensuring that you number the chapters, sections and
sub-sections. Do this even if you only have 3 pages.
3. If applicable, include an illustration of the parts the buyer SHOULD have received and make sure this includes a picture of the manual itself.
4. When you reach the English chapter,
don’t be tempted to waste money on a translator, as you can simply guess most English
words and make up the rest as you
go along.
5. Be sure to include diagrammatical information where appropriate – get a four year old
child to help you with the drawings.
6. Make the manual'
s cover attractive to women so that they can sit on their comfy sofas and shout directions at their
husband/boyfriend when they are doing perfectly well with superior male intuition (and brute force)
The instruction manual was written in total gibberish.
The instruction manual'
s glossary section was extremely useful.
Jack: Would you like to learn how your phone works in Arabic?
Jill: Oh Yes
Please!
Jack: Here you are, it starts on page 205.