This is a true but sad story.
My wife was going to be home later than me. She started dinner but wasn’t able to finish. Some mixture of pinto beans were cooking, slowly, in the slow-cooker.
She asked me to finish dinner. I was happy to. I like cooking. I don’t like following directions but I like to follow a framework and create the rest.
She took a screenshot of only a portion of the recipe. She said do steps 3-6 and then let it sit until she gets home. Easy day.
The problem was, I didn’t know what the recipe was for. I could only determine it was some type of beans. I guessed maybe it was a refried kind of thing and we were going to spread the mixture on tortillas. Maybe though, I thought, it was more like a bean main course, where we would eat the bean mixture on a plate or in a bowl. Or could this be just a side dish and the main course was something I didn’t know about?
I knew only steps 3-6 and did not have the context to understand the whole thing. Even though the steps were pretty clear, I could not understand the overall recipe.
I finished the recipe but it was wrong. I added some extra beans that weren’t cooked yet (I don’t know why I did this). I did not add the sauteed onions and peppers because I thought they went on top after the beans were done; this I guess I totally made up.
Your audience needs you to put all of the info in context. No one wants to make a mystery recipe. Communicate the why and the solution. Don’t give your audience a bunch of facts and hope they understand how to fit the facts together; show them how they fit. Show the audience how the information you are presenting comes together in context to gain a solution.
The recipe turned out like shit. She was pissed. I ate them all and acted like I loved them, the kids were not impressed.
I still don’t know what the recipe was supposed to make.
Photo by Staff Sgt. Seth Stang
