Jael has been working in digital strategy for over a decade, specializing in content strategy and information architecture. She’s currently in-role as a Content Architect at a global financial institution. Her education is in design, which gives her a unique lens on visual problem solving, and she enjoys messy information problems, mapping concepts as visuals, and creating order from chaos.

(Imperfect) Content for Perfectionists

This isn’t a tactical talk, but a philosophical talk about how pursuit of perfection and looking for the “right” answer can get in the way of our work. I’ll discuss how creating perfect content is a myth, and outline a new philosophy to embrace that focuses on being imperfect. I’ll also cover some practical ways to apply this in terms of how we collaborate with partners, the questions we use in our toolkit, and the way we assess ourselves.

How can adopting a “less-than-perfect” mindset help us create better content and strategy? As practitioners in a field that requires creating solutions for complex problems and diverse audiences, we spend a lot of time searching for the right answer.

Let’s discuss how adopting a philosophy of imperfection can help us be more effective in our work, and more collaborative and persuasive with our partners. We’ll also examine some practical questions we can add to our project toolkit to be imperfectly perfect.

In this session, attendees will learn:

• A shift in our philosophy that that means we don’t have to be the expert all the time
  
• A list of practical questions for defining and executing projects to can add to your content toolkit
  
• Re-affirmation in the importance of the work we do, and how that can free us instead of constrain us