About the Speaker: Barry Saiff
• Technical communications leader
• 32 years of technical documentation
experience
• Led writing teams at 6 US companies
• Founded Saiff Solutions, Inc. in 2011
• Provides content development to
Fortune 500 companies in Japan & US
• Loves acronyms
AGEND
A
7 Habits of Highly Effective
Technical Writers
Vision
.
1 DON’T TAKE IT PERSONALLY a5 ACQUIRE
FEEDBACK
2 LEARN BEFORE ASKING
6 UNDERSTAND
3 ASK .
CONTRIBUTE
7
4 REWRITE
(learn)
(test, reviews)
(respect, impress)
(before publishing)
(often)
(always)
1. DON’T TAKE IT
PERSONALLY (learn)
Vision
Great technical writers thrive on criticism. They
understand that it enables them to improve,
and to improve the accuracy and readability of
their content. So, don’t take criticism personally.
Use it to your advantage.
2. LEARN BEFORE ASKING
Vision
(respect, impress)
Learn as much as you can from available
resources before asking questions. In this
way, you can respect others’ time and
impress your colleagues with your ability
to ask intelligent questions.
3. ASK
Vision
(often)
Technical writing requires good people
skills. Don’t attempt it alone.
Ask questions. Ask for help.
4. REWRITE
Vision
(always)
Pick 3 of your favorite writers. If you were
able to see their first drafts, you’d
probably think, “I can do much better.”
The best writers in the world are the best
re-writers. Always rewrite, rewrite, and
rewrite some more.
5. ACQUIRE FEEDBACK
Vision
(test, reviews)
Technical writing is almost never 100% on
the first draft. Without adequate testing
and review, accuracy is often unattainable.
Make sure you get the feedback you need
to excel.
6. UNDERSTAND
Vision
(before publishing)
When you start, you may not fully understand your
subject matter. That’s fine. By the time you publish,
make sure you do understand. If you don’t understand
what you write, your readers are not likely to
understand it, either.
If you write something, you need to understand what
you wrote. Even if it is just a draft to show your editor,
you need to either a) fully understand what you wrote,
or b) have a list of questions. Do not write a sentence
that you yourself do not understand.
Vision
7. CONTRIBUTE
Notice things. Does the prototype work
as expected?
Are the user interface labels capitalized
consistently?
Ask questions. Make suggestions.
Be a part of the product team.
7 Habits of Highly Effective
Technical Communications Leaders
Vision
8
9
10
11
BE A CUSTOMER
ADVOCATE
ADVOCATE FOR PROCESS
IMPROVEMENTS
CARE ABOUT ALL
CUSTOMER-VISIBLE
CONTENT
BE AN EFFECTIVE
INTRAPRENEUR
12
13
14
KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE
PROMOTE APPROPRIATE
TECHNICAL COMMUNICATIONS
METHODOLOGIES, GENTLY
KEEP
PERSPECTIVE, AND
DE-STRESS
7 Habits of Highly Effective
Technical Communications Leaders
Vision
You can be an effective leader, regardless of your position.
These 7 habits go beyond the basics of developing good content,
to answer this question:
As a technical communications leader, at any level, how do you
influence the work environment, improve the processes, and
educate the people to make continuous improvement possible?
8. BE A CUSTOMER
ADVOCATE
Vision
While you may have less product knowledge
than an engineer, you can view the product
from a user’s perspective. Share your input
and advocate for product and process
improvements. Support similar efforts
initiated by others. Focus on quality.
9. ADVOCATE FOR PROCESS
IMPROVEMENTS
Vision
Process improvements can benefit everyone on
the team, and improve product quality. Can the
quality assurance team test the documentation?
Can technical writers edit the user interface text
and error messages? Can written documentation
reviews become a factor in the performance
evaluations of all product team members?
Would documentation review meetings improve
quality?
10. CARE ABOUT ALL
CUSTOMER-VISIBLE CONTENT
Vision
If you’re only writing the customer
documentation, there is a chance that no one
with your skills is editing other user-visible
content. Even if you cannot edit this content,
you can educate others about key technical
writing practices. For example – One concept,
One term – each word should be used to mean
only one thing. This avoids user confusion, and
saves translation funds. Another key technical
writing practice: short sentences.
11. BE AN EFFECTIVE
INTRAPRENEUR
Vision
Think about how to create change – look before
you leap. Understand the who, what, and how of
change. Who are the key stakeholders and
decision-makers, and what motivates them?
What do they care about? How can you best
bring them on board? What are their
backgrounds – cultural, professional,
educational? Start with curiosity. Listen. Discuss.
Ask questions.
Vision
12. KNOW YOU AUDIENCE
What do you know about the users – education
levels, roles? How do they use the product and
access the documentation? What percentage
read the documentation in English?
Collaborative efforts with other teams can aid
your research. One way to learn more is to
conduct a user survey. While gaining approval
can be an uphill battle, the insights gained from
a well-designed survey can make the effort
worthwhile.
13. PROMOTE APPROPRIATE TECHNICAL
COMMUNICATIONS METHODOLOGIES, GENTLY
Vision
Not every organization needs to use the latest
methodologies. What worked elsewhere may
not work for your team. Bring others along with
you – educate and involve engineers, quality
assurance personnel, marketers, and product
managers in assessing and exploring new
methodologies. For example, some
organizations can benefit from adopting topicbased authoring, without XML or DITA.
14. KEEP PERSPECTIVE,
AND DE-STRESS
Vision
Mistakes provide tremendous opportunities for
personal and organizational growth, including
improved processes, communications, and skills.
Accept these moments and make the most of them.
Learn from successes and failures. Remember that
what is truly irreplaceable is human life. Learn what
you need, and what your coworkers need, to reduce
and relieve stress.
7 Habits of Highly Effective
Technical Communications Leaders
Vision
Consistently practicing these 7 habits will support your development as an
effective technical communications leader, continuous process
improvement in your organization, harmonious work relationships, and
improved content and product quality. Be the change you wish to see.
BONUS: Resources
• BALANCE infographic (Respect) – We will send it, with the
presentation, to all webinar registrants.
• Global Content Creation – Making it Work
• A Motivating SLAP
• The 21 Dimensions of Respect for Foreigners
• 2016 New Years Free Gifts
• What do good technical writers do? Why do we need them?
ALL QUESTIONS ARE WELCOME!
Email: barrysaiff@saiffsolutions.com
Skype: SaiffSolutions
Contact: +1 415 350 2959
+63 917 872 0929
Web: www.saiffsolutions.com
Join us at:
LavaCon Las Vegas, October 26-29: http://lavacon.org/2016/vegas/
BONUS: Creativity in the Face of
Stress
A good manager creates and protects a healthy culture.
Culture lives in the details. In every moment, every
action and interaction.
Think about how you deal with stress. You are a role
model for your team.
Successful managers rely on the 3 Cs:
Caring, Competence, and Creativity