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Subject:RE: Top Ten Things You'd Like To Tell Engineers From:"Steve Hudson" <adslyy5g -at- tpg -dot- com -dot- au> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Tue, 10 Aug 2004 13:28:36 +1000
Let's be blunt. <Like I am any other way?!?>
1) Everyone loves chocolate. You want Mr SME to love your ass? Give him
chocolate! Screw the inputs, he simply don't care and WE do NOT have the
pull to take him.
2) Mechanism: It's called payment. We are supposed to be grateful for that.
You know, like the POW's are supposed to be grateful of water.
3) Wits? If only it were true. Most TECHNICAL WRITERS (I write audio
scripts, movie scripts etc, this tech comm business is ridiculous. Look at
basic semantics and tell me again how common symbology does NOT rule) use
salubrious and esoteric arguments rather than finding the meat on the bones.
Here, even Plato and I stand united - stop writing proc mans and start
enacting them. Once you can enact a plan, it finally becomes a process worth
embodying in documentation. Yes, the mans are necc. Yes, they ARE useless
unless you stand behind them.
> Why would you need to tell an engineer something to promote better
> cooperation? What isn't known?
Yeah, there is this feeling among writers that we must earn the respect of
engineers (somehow) to make sure they provide us inputs.
That is strange... if the key factor in the creation and delivery of
documents - namely, information - is given us because of our charming ways,
rapport, and the respect we earn: isn't that a risky deal? What if the
engineers, despite my understaning of the technology and willingness to
learn, just hate me for holding a literature degree (I am of course
exaggerating)?
Shouldn't there be a mechanism in place, a mandate from the project
management, that facilitates the flow of inputs to doc teams? We as
communicators may not take recourse to quoting these bye-laws, we use our
wits; however, when all else fails, shouldn't we have the option to escalate
matters and demand information that is our bread and butter?
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