Re: Human Interest

["Friedman, Michael" <mhf -at- DSC -dot- COM>]

Michael,

My advice (strictly from own contract experience) is to be cautious
about how long you let this go on. There are some employers who will
keep you dangling on a string indefinitely. What they really want is
as many free documentation and promotional ideas as they can milk you
for. I guess you just need to use your instincts. If you like the
company and get "good vibes" from them, it may be worth another shot.
If not, I'd tell them to stick it.

As to how you add "human interest" value to press releases and
documentation ... well, for press releases, try focusing on how this
program will (or how it has) improved people's lives. Another
possibility would be to focus on the development company itself ...
i.e., what makes these folks special and unique? My guess is that this
is probably what they're looking for. That might take some research
(read your unpaid time), which explains my words of caution.

How do you add human interest to the documentation? Personally, I
think it's kind of a dumb request. My own prejudice is that software
users don't give a hoot about "human interest" in a software manual.
They mainly want clear, accurate information, and they want to be able
to find it quickly. But ... if you want a model for "lively" technical
documentation, you might check out some of the "... for Dummies"
books, i.e., "Windows for Dummies." These books take kind of a "boy,
ain't we clever" approach, and many of them are big sellers.

Hope this helps a bit.

MF

_______________________________________________________________________
________

G'Day folks,

In an interview last month for a permanent, full-time tech writing
position, I wrote a sample press release and then a home work
assignment
(brief documentation on a little program).  Today they responded that
they are interested in me, but that the press release and
documentation
had little to no "human interest," which is what they were looking
for.
They invited me to give it another crack, which I accepted, but I
feel
totally unprepared for a second dance because I don't know what
"human
interest" means in the context of documentation, or what information
is
appropriate for a press release other than bare facts.  Both
assignments
are purposely vague, which irritates me because I see tech writing
assignments as exactly the opposite, but I want the job, so I wanna
try.

So my question is, how do I add human interest to my writing style
when
it comes to the press release and the documentation?

Thanks,
Mike

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