In Prince's funky name, amen.
Millennial here. All the above and:
Please send me the training or tutorial in a written format with maybe some screenshots if necessary. I don't want a video tutorial. I don't want to waste time trying to scroll to the exact moment in the instructions that I need and then have to pause and replay it because I missed the .01 seconds of actually relevant information.
Please. Text. Maybe some images for clarification. I can read. I promise.
Skimmable, SEARCHABLE instructions. If they're long, there should be a hyperlinked table of contents.
Elder Millennial here cosigning HARD
If you really need to show a movement, embed a gif or 15-scond-or-less video in the text, like Jod intended.
I work in science communications and I am constantly hearing about how we need to try to do video to appeal to the newest generation of scientists and it's like do you think physicists who can't read are a good idea?
Gen z and please just give me text!
This. All of this. AH PLEASE GOD NO MORE INTERMINABLE TUTORIALS THAT TURN OUT TO BE NOT NEARLY ENOUGH ABOUT THE SUBJECT BUT ALL ABOUT THE TUBER IN LOVE WITH THE SOUND OF THEIR OWN VOICE.
Just write a damn article and stick in a few screenshots or whatever where necessary.
...FFS.
A written tutorial is required for regulatory work and we still get companies trying to sell software that only offers videos (and the now obligatory chat bot that refers to video tutorials...)
My dual learning style millennial butt needs to be able to READ ALONG with any spoken instructions (and ideally make handwritten notes) otherwise The Thing will not be absorbed (which is why I am SO terrible about name retention)
Emphasising this line from cinemaocd above because it really nails it: do you think physicists who can't read are a good idea?
All of this!
the video format is very powerful! watching the thing be done is an ancient form of learning, and it's cool that we no longer have to actually know someone who can do the thing to access that kind of information.
although it's a damn rare tutorial video that's shot well enough to be anywhere near as useful as Actually Being There. but still! it's good! a modern convenience!
i would still always like text also. ideally a diagram.
reading is a skill and here's the fun bit, the part of your brain that retains information is much better at retaining information that you READ than WATCHED
A good, well written how to has been the norm for thousands of years and we have evolved to work with that, but a handy youtube video where we can SEE what is being explained means we can interpret bad instructions when we don't understand, but its the badly written bit that we're going to remember, not just as an old, but the same is true of every human being.
Video is useful, but a written version is preferable, also we can print it out and annotate the hell out of it
