Re: Persistence in tech writing

Subject: Re: Persistence in tech writing
From: Jenny Greenleaf <jennygreenleaf -at- comcast -dot- net>
To: techwrl <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
Date: Fri, 3 Jun 2011 14:43:24 -0700

This dovetails well with the "dumb blond" trick, which is one of my favorites. If I can't get information and have been rebuffed after repeated professional inquiries, I just make up some stuff , put in the company format, print it, and give it to them to review. The SME usually says "That's not how it works!." At which point, I smile sweetly and ask, "Could you please explain it to me?"

There's something about seeing it written down and printed out that seems to get tough SMEs to focus.

I once had a "looks at shoes" engineer who said he couldn't write at all. I was tasked to help him prepare a proposal. I emailed him one question at a time--he wrote fairly reasonable paragraphs that I edited and put into the document. When we got done, he said thank you, and I told him he had really written the whole thing. Huge smile!

Jenny



On Jun 3, 2011, at 10:54 AM, Peter Sturgeon wrote:

>
> Hard to do all week long sometimes. Some SMEs will eventually bow to your incessant appearance in their cubicles. I find what works best is to ask fewer questions on a couple of trips, weave the answers into what feels coherent, then give them that to review.
>
>> Subject: Persistence in tech writing
>> Date: Fri, 3 Jun 2011 13:50:35 -0400
>> From: DGoldstein -at- riverainmedical -dot- com
>> To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
>>
>> Being *politely* persistent makes a huge difference in this line of
>> work. Kudos to that company for realizing it!
>>
>

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Create and publish documentation through multiple channels with Doc-To-Help.
Choose your authoring formats and get any output you may need. Try
Doc-To-Help, now with MS SharePoint integration, free for 30-days.
http://www.doctohelp.com

---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-

To unsubscribe send a blank email to
techwr-l-unsubscribe -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
or visit http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/options/techwr-l/archive%40web.techwr-l.com


To subscribe, send a blank email to techwr-l-join -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com

Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- Visit
http://www.techwr-l.com/ for more resources and info.

Please move off-topic discussions to the Chat list, at:
http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/listinfo/techwr-l-chat


Follow-Ups:

References:
Persistence in tech writing: From: Dan Goldstein
RE: Persistence in tech writing: From: Peter Sturgeon

Previous by Author: RE: Has anyone noticed...
Next by Author: Re: Has anyone noticed...
Previous by Thread: RE: Persistence in tech writing
Next by Thread: RE: Persistence in tech writing


What this post helpful? Share it with friends and colleagues:


Sponsored Ads