How to "help" people with computer problems

[RobertX]

Hey dudes,

I've been randomly visiting computer forums, and this is what I found in the Linux Mint 17.2 Tutorial forum.

While not having anything to do with GNU/Linux or the Mint 17.2 operating operating system, it does help people with the number one task that I see people having trouble with, even myself: helping others with computer problems.

I never thought I can find that kind of stuff on that board since GNU/Linux users are usually seen as stuck-up and over proud of themselves, though I am just an average user.

Enjoy!

How to help someone use a computer.


http://polaris.gseis.ucla.edu/pagre/how-to-help.html

Computer people are fine human beings, but they do a lot of harm in the ways they "help" other people with their computer problems. Now that we're trying to get everyone on-line, I thought it might be helpful to write down everything I've been taught about helping people use computers.

First you have to tell yourself some things:

Nobody is born knowing this stuff.

You've forgotten what it's like to be a beginner.

If it's not obvious to them, it's not obvious.

A computer is a means to an end. The person you're helping probably cares mostly about the end. This is reasonable.

Their knowledge of the computer is grounded in what they can do and see -- "when I do this, it does that". They need to develop a deeper understanding, but this can only happen slowly -- and not through abstract theory but through the real, concrete situations they encounter in their work.

Beginners face a language problem: they can't ask questions because they don't know what the words mean, they can't know what the words mean until they can successfully use the system, and they can't successfully use the system because they can't ask questions.

You are the voice of authority. Your words can wound.

Computers often present their users with textual messages, but the users often don't read them.

By the time they ask you for help, they've probably tried several things. As a result, their computer might be in a strange state. This is natural.

They might be afraid that you're going to blame them for the problem.

The best way to learn is through apprenticeship -- that is, by doing some real task together with someone who has a different set of skills.

Your primary goal is not to solve their problem. Your primary goal is to help them become one notch more capable of solving their problem on their own. So it's okay if they take notes.

Most user interfaces are terrible. When people make mistakes it's usually the fault of the interface. You've forgotten how many ways you've learned to adapt to bad interfaces.

Knowledge lives in communities, not individuals. A computer user who's part of a community of computer users will have an easier time than one who isn't.

Having convinced yourself of these things, you are more likely to follow some important rules:

Don't take the keyboard. Let them do all the typing, even if it's slower that way, and even if you have to point them to every key they need to type. That's the only way they're going to learn from the interaction.

Find out what they're really trying to do. Is there another way to go about it?

Maybe they can't tell you what they've done or what happened. In this case you can ask them what they are trying to do and say, "Show me how you do that".

Attend to the symbolism of the interaction. Try to squat down so your eyes are just below the level of theirs. When they're looking at the computer, look at the computer. When they're looking at you, look back at them.

When they do something wrong, don't say "no" or "that's wrong". They'll often respond by doing something else that's wrong. Instead, just tell them what to do and why.

Try not to ask yes-or-no questions. Nobody wants to look foolish, so their answer is likely to be a guess. "Did you attach to the file server?" will get you less information than "What did you do after you turned the computer on?".

Explain your thinking. Don't make it mysterious. If something is true, show them how they can see it's true. When you don't know, say "I don't know". When you're guessing, say "let's try ... because ...". Resist the temptation to appear all-knowing. Help them learn to think the problem through.

Be aware of how abstract your language is. "Get into the editor" is abstract and "press this key" is concrete. Don't say anything unless you intend for them to understand it. Keep adjusting your language downward towards concrete units until they start to get it, then slowly adjust back up towards greater abstraction so long as they're following you. When formulating a take-home lesson ("when it does this and that, you should try such-and-such"), check once again that you're using language of the right degree of abstraction for this user right now.

Tell them to really read the messages, such as errors, that the computer generates.

Whenever they start to blame themselves, respond by blaming the computer. Then keep on blaming the computer, no matter how many times it takes, in a calm, authoritative tone of voice. If you need to show off, show off your ability to criticize bad design. When they get nailed by a false assumption about the computer's behavior, tell them their assumption was reasonable. Tell *yourself* that it was reasonable.

Take a long-term view. Who do users in this community get help from? If you focus on building that person's skills, the skills will diffuse to everyone else.

Never do something for someone that they are capable of doing for themselves.

Don't say "it's in the manual". (You knew that.)

Source: http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=47927

[Joker__TPB]

Nice find

I think people need to learn from this post for what it teaches. I also think that the fact that the article was published was in 1996, is pretty cool.

I remember just a few years back, when I entered the Linux community. I had no computer knowledge, but I still had my ambitions set. I didn't wanted to learn from others or make them accomplish my dreams for me, I was dedicated to learning my own way. Maybe that was the fault I carried that made my progress so slow, but I believe that I've chosen the right path. Now I have my own distro, and I want to continue my knowledge. But also at the same time, I want to help others and introduce them to how computers work. I also don't want to sound like a douche, when some people can't follow certain tutorials that have simple instructions. That's why I want to help others at their own pace, cause they can't think the way I do due to my knowledge.

Nice article tho  

[RobertX]

Off-topic: You made your own GNU/Linux distro? Do you have a website for it?

On-topic: It's good to hear that you are a self-starter, it goes a long way in surviving in the real world. Now, I have a question: since you said you like to learn things by yourself, do you still read online articles and forums to give you clues? I understand that you want to take the lead in your education of the computer world, but you must have started consultation of help articles somewhere?

[Joker__TPB]

Off-topic: Yes, I've made my own. I have not distributed it (yet). It still needs tweaks to be a bit more stable than what it is now, but it works great on my potato laptop.

On-topic: I really can't say that I haven't read articles to help me. In the beginning, I just had a couple of laptops and 3 or 4 USB's that had different Linux distros and debugging tools to help me study the Linux kernel source code. I'm very stubborn when it comes to something I don't understand. After through much trial and error, I finally had my my own distro. Throughout the project, I never fully became dedicated to it. It was something I only worked on the weekends or holidays. There were also times were I'd just rage quit, and I'd wouldn't go back to it for weeks or months. Maybe I would've finished sooner if I had requested help or looked at articles or tutorials.

Now that my distro is a bit more stable now, I tend to look at articles every now and then. At the start, I knew I didn't want help, its something you know you want to tackle alone, sorta like Skyrim.        

[Last Roze]

How to help someone use a computer.

Explain your thinking. Don't make it mysterious. If something is true, show them how they can see it's true. When you don't know, say "I don't know". When you're guessing, say "let's try ... because ...". Resist the temptation to appear all-knowing. Help them learn to think the problem through.

Well that's something i never do, because i don't want my client to get smart over my ability. what a loss . . . they won't call me again if they know all the secret @.@

[Picklock]

How to help someone use a computer.

the title should be

"How to become a good and proper human being instead a douche bag smart ass person that incidentally have more time in hands to mess around with computer programs when someone asking for help when they are having troubles with some computer program that made by some German companies"

very nice post Robert
kudos

[SS_Link]

I've all too often seen a condescending elitist attitude from some people here (that won't be named) giving advice to people who might not be as skilled in computers. Maybe saidforth people had a unpleasant day. Maybe the unskilled computer users didn't put an effort to find answers in the first place. Whatever the reason it happens a little too often here and seeing this thread makes me wonder how different it'd be here if those people would have a different attitude like your first post mentions.

/endrant

Thanks for the post RobertX, it's refreshing to see something like this for a change.

[abraxas8r]

Regarding how to help people with computer problems..... and btw howdy to the gurus in this realm, from aspiring to attained Nice to read the brainstorms and respect !!!!!

Mention to the seeker of knowledge that about 25% of the challenge is learning what NOT to do

[Jess95]

"good" point.