How do we ensure our staff read instructions aloud?
As Jakob Nielsen demonstrated:
On the average Web page, users have time to read at most 28% of the words during an average visit; 20% is more likely.
We have a business application used by call center staff to carry out transactions on customer accounts. Our testing has consistently shown that our staff don't read important messages aloud to the customers.
For example, we have a transaction that makes a significant change to a customer's account. We want staff to read out the 3 bullet points (around 40 words) to the customer on the phone. This is to ensure that the customer understands the consequences of the transaction. The vast majority of staff skip over the text and try to click 'next'.
We have tried reducing the copy as much as possible, and using visual prompts to highlight important text, but these haven't made a measurable difference.