The Not-Boring Tech Writer - Skill #7: Preparing for the Future of Tech Comm

Skill #7: Preparing for the Future of Tech Comm

07/09/16 • 29 min

As the tech comm industry develops, technical writers must embrace a sobering truth: As Dr. Stan Dicks writes in Digital Literacy for Technical Communication, “Technical communicators who add value to their organizations do not merely write and edit documents.”

So how do we prepare for the future of tech comm so we can ensure we’re adding value to our organizations?

Preparing for the future is difficult without a compass – but fortunately – Ted Hudek, Senior Programming Writer at Microsoft, knows the way.

In this episode, Ted shares his tips on how you can prepare for the future of tech comm, including:

why you should always have a side learning project.
why you should not freak out about tools.
why you should actively build relationships with your colleagues.

The Show Notes:

So how do we prepare for the future of tech comm so we can ensure we’re adding value to our organizations?

Preparing for the future is difficult without a compass – but fortunately – Ted Hudek, Senior Programming Writer at Microsoft, knows the way.

In this episode, Ted shares his tips on how you can prepare for the future of tech comm, including:

why you should always have a side learning project.
why you should not freak out about tools.
why you should actively build relationships with your colleagues.

The Show Notes:

Previous Episode

Skill #6: Bridging the Gap Between Documentation and Support

Documentation and Support teams share a common goal: to give customers the information they need to get the greatest value from a product.

But despite a shared goal, consistent communication rarely follows.

The result: tech writers missing out on content-rich customer feedback, thus, as our guest Neal Kaplan phrases it, “creating documentation in a vacuum.”

In this episode, you’ll learn how to bridge the gap between Documentation and Support, including how to:

build rapport with your Support team.
use the relationship to create better documentation.
measure the efficiency of your documentation.

The Show Notes:

Next Episode

Skill #8: Acquiring the Three Types of Knowledge Tech Writers Need to Succeed

Knowledge – as technical writers, it’s one of our greatest assets.

However, amid the information overload technical writers often face, it’s also one of the most difficult assets to acquire.

Enter Tom Johnson and Lisa Meloncon. Today’s guests and tech comm. advocates that have graciously shared how you can filter the information overload and shift your focus to the three types of knowledge you need to succeed: