This stuff is SO true.
Here are just a few of the observations and suggestions:
- Nobody is born knowing this stuff.
- 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.
- You are the voice of authority. Your words can wound.
- 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.
- They might be afraid that you're going to blame them for the problem.
- 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.
- 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.
- Computers often present their users with textual messages, but the users often don't read them. (Very True)
- 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".
- 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?".
- Tell them to really read the messages, such as errors, that the computer generates.
These should be printed out and read by anyone trying to teach a newbie the computer ropes.
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