TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
> Exactly! The two concepts: technical acumen and understanding user needs,
> are intimately interdependent. Hence, a writer professing only one of
> these two skills is not ideally suited for the task of documenting complex
> technology.
Are communications skills not worth a mention here?
Or is "documenting complex technology" something
grander and more exalted than telling some poor sod
clearly and simply how to install a firewall router ?
> I have found that the more I understand some technology, the more I can
> anticipate what the user needs to know and how best to explain it to them.
What I would like to know more about is what
happens after "anticipating" that makes you know
"how best to explain" something. For me, the
anticipation is only the beginning. Knowing *what*
needs explaining does not make me know *how*
best to explain it. Is it different for you? Do the
mechanics of clear communication just follow magically
upon your anticipation?
Without wanting to get into a chicken/egg circularity,
*I* have found that the more closely I adhere to rules
of clear communication, the more I am required to
discover about both the subject matter and the user's
requirements. (This is because clear communication
requires clear thinking.) So for me, the dictates of clear
communication compel me to increase my knowledge.
For you (apparently) something like the reverse is true.
Perhaps we are describing the same interdependacy from
two different frames of reference, and perhaps not.
A landmark hotel, one of America's most beautiful cities, and
three and a half days of immersion in the state of the art:
IPCC 01, Oct. 24-27 in Santa Fe. http://ieeepcs.org/2001/
+++ Miramo -- Database/XML publishing automation. See us at +++
+++ Seybold SFO, Sept. 25-27, in the Adobe Partners Pavilion +++
+++ More info: http://www.axialinfo.comhttp://www.miramo.com +++
---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as: archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot- Visit http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.
