Older people and generally non tech savvy individuals have a hard time getting to grips with the latest technology, and many of them are rather ashamed of admitting it. If you couple this to the fact that many of them don’t really see the advantages of being able to use these types of devices, it makes it quite hard for many of them to commit to learning to use them. But, if you have the right attitude, commit to explain the advantages and take a step by step approach, you will get better results.
The following is a list of tips that will help you teach an older person how to use an iPhone 5, but the tips can serve as ways to teach such a person to use other touch based interfaces from Apple. So, without any more delay, let’s dive right in.
The basic question: Why should I use an iPhone 5?
Your grandpa has relied all his life on regular phones, and the truth is, they’ve allowed him to communicate just fine. So, in order to get him to pay any attention to your babble, you really have to explain him the advantages of learning anything new. The fact that the iPhone 5 is a smart phone and that it’s a cool and powerful device bear no meaning to him.
So, make sure you advocate the iPhone 5 usage to speak to his needs. Explain how he could always browse the latest news faster, how he could find information about people, places, how he could connect to his family remotely, whenever he chooses. Be patient and see which thing really makes sense to him, and what he responds with interest towards.
One lesson at a time
Give your grandpa the time ti acquaint himself with the device. Start with the simplest things – holding and unlocking the phone. He will most probably find it odd that the phone doesn’t have any buttons, so explain these things to him. Also, by allowing him to unlock the phone you will set the tone for all other interactions, which are touch and swipe based.
Preparing the phone
If you’ve bought an iPhone specifically for your grandpa, make sure you don’t install a lot of applications. A crowded screen with many different icons can be very distracting, so take care not to include anything that he won’t actually be using – games, applications, etc.
Phone functions
Explain in simple steps how to initiate a conversation, without the need to run through the directory. Explain the simplest things, the tapping of a phone number and the pressing of the green key. Make sure he looks at the device, and that the haptic response is on, so that he’ll know when a button is pressed.
Once he gets it right allow time for this to become second nature to him. Also, teach him that the phone needs to be recharged, show him how to do it. Using a dock is the best thing to do, as it will be easier for him to reach and put the phone into the base. All other functions can be learned afterwards, but, making sure the basic phone functions are learned is a must.
