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> * What advice would you give to a new Technical Writer
> about interviewing
> SMEs?
I figure that the SMEs are the experts, and I admire and respect
expertise where ever I find it - and I let that admiration and
respect show. So, I'll gather a bunch of questions and ask them
all at once, rather than bug the SME a zillion times with lots
of little questions.
The SME and I are working together toward the same purpose: to
get the best product we can out the door on time and (ideally)
under budget. So, I figure we're allies.
I've also noticed that a lot of SMEs hate writing. Part of my
job is to make their lives easier, to do the writing so they
won't have to.
I've only once had problems getting information out of an SME
(and I've worked with some pretty hostile ones, at least they
were initially), and that was a political situation.
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