Technical Communication Professionals in Southwest Michigan | Prima Communications, Inc.
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Are Skills Enough?
Posted on 14. Mar, 2011 by John K in Documentation & Training, Prima Communications Blog, Writing & Marketing
Our last blog discussed the training and experience that are beneficial for a technical writing candidate, but there is more.
Along with the degree and/or experience come the intangibles or perhaps the attitude. Our best writers are inquisitive by nature and have a passion for clear writing. In general, technical writers are in positions helping very bright people who have little patience for explaining their concepts. We need to enter their world and care enough to ask good questions to lay the groundwork for communicating their ideas. We don’t have to become engineers or programmers, but we need to get involved in their processes to gather the necessary information to communicate their message.
And hone your listening skills. Our most effective communicators are the best listeners. This may sound trite, but if you aren’t listening, you will not understand the needs of your client.
Finally, writers/communicators have to be open to new and emerging technologies for communicating the information. My career started when cut and paste literally meant to cut and paste an article on a board for production. Now we have a variety of vehicles for communicating—various software packages are available to support traditional hardcopy items (SOPs, Work Instructions, Newsletters), as well as electronic delivery via blogs, websites, and video.
So, in a nutshell, a strong candidate will have solid communication fundamentals (grammar, sentence structure, writing concepts), a passion for writing, and a very open and inquisitive mind!
What Skills Do I Look for When Hiring a Technical Writer/Communicator?
Posted on 24. Feb, 2011 by John K in Documentation & Training, Prima Communications Blog, Writing & Marketing
My last blog noted that dinosaurs (such as me) generally entered the field without formal technical writing training or degrees. That was then; now, many colleges and universities offer degrees in technical communications or a very closely related field, so the expectation of a degree or at least some solid college course work in the field is much more common and anticipated.
That being said, experience is still a strong factor in the decision making process when hiring a new member of our staff. I love it when a recent grad can display writing experience, whether it is from writing stories for the college paper or an internship with an engineering firm. Any type of experience shines over great grades and working in fast food or some other unrelated field. You’ve got to find a way to develop a portfolio or at least verifiable experience. If you can’t find work in the field find a way to hone the skills. Freelance an article—anything.
As for degrees, clearly a technical writing (or related) degree is the best place to start. English and Creative Writing are also good to build from. Engineering can also work, but whether it’s a left brain/right brain thing or whatever—many engineers lack the passion for writing. Their passion is often focused on creating the device or program, not explaining the need for it. To them, the need (and the logic behind it) is as clear as the nose on your face! There are exceptions; Prima Communications, Inc. was founded by an engineer whose passion was in writing—a powerful combination.
5 Proofreading Tips You May Not Have Learned in Pubic School
Posted on 22. Sep, 2010 by Jeremy in Documentation & Training, Prima Communications Blog, Writing & Marketing
It will be very embarrassing if there is a spelling error in this pot post.
But not as embarrassing as the “Pubic Schools” billboard touting the 15 best things about South Bend, Indiana’s public schools. Credit to Blue Waters Group for taking responsibility for the typo, admitting four people looked at it and didn’t see the error.
Photo by Lee MacMillan
I didn’t catch it the first time I read the sign, and spell check certainly wouldn’t help. So how can you make sure your content is correct?
5 Proofreading Tips You May Not Have Learned in Pubic School
- Let virgin eyes read it.
- Read it out loud.
- Read it out loud backwards.
- Change Case
- Go big.
If you helped write it, chances are you’ve seen it at least a dozen times. You’re probably sick of it. This increases the chance of skimming. Let fresh eyes take a look and ask them to:
Slowly. Someone saying “pubic” out loud in an office is going to get attention. And when that’s done, ask your proofer to:
This will help prevent the aforementioned filling of blanks. It’s much easier to skim “pubic schools” than “schools pubic.”
Depending on the letters, misspellings and missing letters can be harder to spot if your text is ALL CAPS or lowercase. Observe:
PUBIC SCHOOLS
pubic schools
The missing L is more obvious in all caps.
Change it up for review.
While you’re changing the case, bump the size up. Keep going, get to one word per page. If you’re scrolling through the pages and come to one with
PUBIC
sprawled across it, you’ll probably stop the presses.
Why Do You Need a Technical Communicator?
Posted on 01. Jul, 2010 by John K in Documentation & Training, Prima Communications Blog, Writing & Marketing
Often I am asked, “What is it Prima provides?”
When answering the question I have to decide, hmm, do I go with the stock answer and list all the services or does the questioner want to truly engage in a conversation regarding the talent technical communicators bring to the work environment.
In answering the above I would like to share an email I recently received from Stephanie Stamm, a Prima employee for over 10 years, who has worked in a variety of assignments.
From Stephanie:
“I’m struck again by how much of my job—and I’d bet this is true of most Primas—is making sure communication is happening between various clients.
For example, I received an email today from one of the sites asking me to post a number of documents to the HR library on the plant’s SharePoint website.
She also asked me to add a “Safety” folder to the HR library and upload a document there. Well, there is a separate Safety library on each plant’s site and a similar, but not identical, document was already uploaded in that library. So I emailed her the following (copying the Safety Manager):
As far as Safety goes, there is a 1.0 Safety library where Safety documents are located. The “General Safety Work Rules” document you sent is similar to, but not exactly the same as a document that is already uploaded, 1.02 General Plant and Safety Rules. Rather than having two documents that might possibly conflict, I’d suggest you work with [your Safety Manager] to make sure all the relevant items are covered in 1.02. I won’t upload the “General Safety Work Rules” until I hear from you or [him] about that one.
I got a reply back from the Safety Manager, saying he agreed and all safety-related documents should be under the Safety library.
I guess another way to put all this is that a lot of times our job involves NOT doing exactly what we are asked to do, but figuring out what the client really needs instead.”
Technical communications is more than tools and the ability to write. A true technical communicator is going to understand the mission of the organization and the intricacies of their communications tools (both internal and external).
MichBio Expo – Opening Reception Tonight!
Posted on 03. Nov, 2009 by Jeremy in Business Efficiency, Documentation & Training, Prima Communications Blog
Join us at the MichBio Expo in the Radisson Plaza, downtown Kalamazoo.
In addition to providing tons of information about documentation, process mapping, and other technical wizardry, we’ll be offering attendees the opportunity to film a short video resume or personal statement that they can add to their LinkedIn profile or website.
If you’re attending the expo, stop by our booth and say hello, or give us a shout on Twitter @primatweet.