Evaluating Persuasive Writing: Am I Making a Difference?

Posted on May 6, 2019 by

This post is a response to another friend’s suggestion (reminder to my readers: I do take requests). My buddy Chuck suggested I take on “social engineering on a budget.” He was joking, as it turned out, but what he meant was talking about how effective technical communicators are at changing hearts and minds. I covered some of this in my master’s thesis, so I’ll give it a go, keeping in mind that things have changed a bit in the–egad–17 years since it was published. Continue reading →

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Recovering After Starting Off Badly

Posted on May 2, 2019 by

We all have those moments where our first impression is not quite our best. We show up to meet the new clients only to discover we’ve worn two different-colored shoes or we forget an assignment from a new customer or we call assuming someone is a “Mr.” when they’re in fact a “Ms.” Today’s topic (courtesy of my mentor D2) addresses how to handle getting back on track if you start off on the wrong foot. The good news is, most of the time, these situations are not fatal for your business relationships. Continue reading →

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Writing With Purpose

Posted on April 29, 2019 by

As part of my ongoing effort to respond to requests, today’s topic comes via my friend Kimberly, who suggested I blog about “Writing for a purpose. I’m generally bad at choosing a topic.” More specifically, she was seeking inputs on “Finding a deeper sense of purpose in technical writing. Staying inspired to share knowledge in a somewhat rigid context.” Repeating yourself can wear you down if there’s not a lot of room for creativity, but I have thoughts anyway. Hope this helps, Kimberly! Continue reading →

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Working with a New Subject Area

Posted on April 25, 2019 by

Today’s post comes courtesy of my friend Greg, who suggested I take on the “Challenges of, approaches to learning a new subject area / industry that you come in as a tech writer.” Given my rather diverse career path, th has happened to me a few times, so I’ll be happy to  share. Continue reading →

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Relating to Your Audience

Posted on April 22, 2019 by

In response to a call for blog topics, my buddy Bill suggested I address the need for technical writers to connect with their audience. Specifically, “I think a lot of technical writers lack the ability to inject humanity into their writing (you excepted). Maybe share how to write in a relatable way without being an automaton..” Part of the talk I’ll be giving in Huntsville next month includes the need for space communicators to focus on their audience, so I’ll take a look at this now. Thanks for the input, Bill! Continue reading →

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