Opinion : An inspiring manual for modern communication

I just finished reading an inspiring publication that gives me hope for the future when it comes to how we, as a society communicate – something so unusually and surprisingly terrific I am compelled to share it.

I wrote last week about the downward trend in the complexity of communication which extends even to the content of our news (networks followed an evening news report on terrorism on Friday with an update about a “feud” between two female singers) and our annual Presidential State of the Union Addresses.

There are, however, people who communicate with the public in ways that are so clever and intelligent that the rest of us should stop to pay attention.

You may be surprised to learn what document which I found so inspiring: An instruction manual for a surge protector.

(In case you haven’t heard, at La Grange Pharmacy, they are revamping their product line. One result of this is a clearance sale at the Radio Shack aisle there. They still have a variety of items left, although there was a cartful less after my visit.)

Among my purchases was the 360 Electrical “Revolve+” surge protector with 4 rotating outlets and 2 USB charging ports. The device works fine, but what impressed me was the clever way in which the manufacturer shared information about its product with consumers.

“Thanks for buying this,” says the introduction. “We truly hope it gives you peace of mind and relieves frustration thus allowing more times for important stuff like writing your mother. Doesn’t need to be long or poetic…maybe start with a text.”

While the “warranty” section of the guide was full of the less-interesting language lawyers insist on using, the rest of it was creative and fun to read.

Even the technical descriptions were enjoyable. For example:

Under the title “Pointy-Headed Stuff, I read: “Surge Energy Joule Rating: 918 joules (a joule is a measure of how much energy a surge protector can take before it bites the dust. We decided to make ours 918 because 917 was simply not enough).”

Clever words fill that little guide.

After advising me to “Read it. Know It,” and informing me there would be a quiz, the guide then described the purpose of the blue light on my device.

“This blue beacon of truth tells you everything’s alright. If it goes out, your Revolve+ has absorbed a surge and sacrificed itself to save your electronics. Shed a tear, then replace it.”

The fold-up guide contains 13 small pages of clever writing that is so much better than most product guides – especially those for products made in other countries.

“Today’s technology requires new thinking,” declares 360 Electrical on its web site. Clearly, they believe that today’s manuals also deserve new thinking, as well.

I was so inspired that I contacted 360 Electrical to ask them about their manual. I spoke to Bill Green, who was a copywriter before he became president of that company.

“We like to reward people for reading our manual by making it fun to read,” said Bill, who acknowledges that many customers do not typically read manuals.

Also, said Bill, “We have some very important information in our manual,” and writing that information cleverly makes it much more enjoyable to read – and more likely that consumers will get the information they need to make the best use of their devices.

The company also prints its manual in French and Spanish; Bill makes sure with his language experts that the information and humor are not lost in translation.

For nearly a decade, customers of 360 electrical products have been reading these clever manuals, and contacting the company like I did to express their appreciation for the linguistic effort.

The company began when a Utah woman, Kimberly Gerard, frustrated by the limits of outlets, created a charger so she could plug in items with those big, inconvenient plugs. She now has a few patents for the devices, which allow you to rotate the plug, making room for another oversized one. I already connected a few large plugs to my new surge protector, rotated to make room for others. The company also has chargers for USB devices; the one I bought has four rotating outlets and two USB ports.

If you want to read one of bill’s inspiring manuals, you can find 360 electrical products at many familiar places, from your neighborhood Radio Shack or Ace Hardware stores to bigger ones like Menard’s.

We all have seen some examples of horrible product manuals directions, many of which come from foreign companies with very poor English translation skill. For example: “Let your skin magic power four shoot.” Nobody who reads that sentence has any idea what the company was trying to say.

To me, however, words in English from American-made companies and their lawyers are more disturbing than bad English from the other hemisphere. (When did our legal community decide that Americans are so stupid that they have to tell us on commercials that cars can’t fly, drive under water or snowboard, or that computers can’t really dance?)

Yet, among the barren desert of mind-numbing boredom and intelligence-insulting legal warnings rises an intellectual oasis from a company that reminds us all that whatever we have to say, we can say it better – even if what they are telling us is something as simple as how to plug in our devices.