I Heart Technical Writing, Tips, Tools and Templates for Technical Writers

Dan Pink & Why Your Tech Writing Skills May Become Commodities

Ivan Walsh — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 12:40:05 +0000

Dan Pink found this quote. “[The programming language] C++ is now an international language. If that’s all you know, then you’re competing with people in India or China who will do the work for less.”

photo credit: bfishadow

The argument here is that if you can’t out-perform other writers, programmers or designers in Asian, then you’re toast. I’m not sure this is the way to look at it for a few reasons.

How to compete?

I’ve worked in both the US and Asia most of my adult life. There are major differences in how both cultures work. And, no this isn’t a rant about which is the best, but a look at how to weigh up this situation and see we (you?) can capitalize on it.

A few words about competition. US workers will have a hard time competing against their Asian counterparts for a few reasons:

There are no work hours in Asia. At least not in China. If we have to sleep in the office all weekend, so be it. The project has to be – and will be – completed.
Salaries are a fraction of the US. While quality will always be an issue in developing countries, not all companies are concerned with absolute perfection. If it’s adequate, then fine. The cost benefits outweigh the customer complaints.
Setup costs are less. Asian workers can accept poor working conditions and still perform. I’ve seen teams of developers squeezed into a tiny room that wasn’t much more spacious than our apartment’s elevator.
There is almost no social benefits in many Asian countries. The pressure to find and keep your work is very intense. Whereas here in Europe many will not return to work as the benefits are so attractive.
US companies have embraced Asian and are developing massive plants here. Intel is building a huge site in Dalian, North China. US and European workers are getting relocated there and, I assume, glad to have the choice. Dalian also happens to be incredibly beautiful.

and I’m sure you can add other points below.

The Argument Against

is that to out-source defeats the company in the long run ‘Companies that turn jobs into robotic procedures and then outsource them based upon cost are totally losing the creativity of their employees and then their loyalty, commitment, desire to think creatively’ which may or may not be true.

For example, Apple use FoxConn in southern China to assemble most of it gadgets, including the iPad, iMac and IPhones. The design work is still in the US but parts that can be automated are shipped out.

Does this make Apple a bad company? Is it killing US jobs?

Chip makes the point that ‘Anyone who would lose their job to outsourcing is simply not a very good programmer. I empathize with people losing their jobs, but there is no substitute for talent — no matter the market size.’

While Simon Gornik adds that, ‘The key is to “self-commoditize”, i.e. to control the commoditization of your skillset. The one weakness of outsourcing is that it weakens creativity. You outsource tasks that don’t require it. Tasks that do – stay at home.’

Opportunities for Tech Writers

In the past, talent came from Asia (mostly India and Japan) and helped build the economy. Take all the asian software developers out of the IT industry and they’re be a huge gap.

It’s also shaped the culture.

The incredible hours that startups are famous for owes a lot to the immigrant mentality.

‘This has to work. I’ve got nothing to go back to.’

Yahoo!, Google, and other Nasdaq darlings owe much to their Asian founders.

What interesting now is that Chinese companies in Beijing, Shanghai, and ShenZhen are posting jobs (well paid jobs by any standard) for experienced talent.

And this is where the opportunity lies for many Tech Writers

The gap right now in China and India is the lack of experienced writers, developers, project managers who can walk into these Software, Documentation and PM Depts and put the systems in place to make them more organized, more structured, and more productive.

If you’ve worked in a major org in the US/Europe, you probably know how to do this. It’s around you every day.

If something can be outsourced, in time it will. But real experience is hard to ‘shift and lift’.

Instead of fighting the wave, use it.

My 2c. What’s yours?

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What is the difference between Procedures and Work Instructions?

Ivan Walsh — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 10:51:54 +0000

There is an argument in the office right now about the difference between Procedures and Work Instructions. I’ll give you my take later but wanted to run one definition by you first.

Definition of Work Instruction

One definition is as follows:

Procedures – tell you Who does What When.
Work Instructions – tell you how to do something at a more granular level.

For me, that’s part of it but there’s more. For example,

What goes into a Work Instruction that doesn’t go into the Procedure Manual and
What goes into the Procedure Manual that is different than the Work Instruction.

The Hierarchy of Procedures

One way I see this is as a pyramid.

You have:

Core Procedures that apply to all employees, e.g. Timekeeping, Security, Confidentiality, across all business units.
System Procedures that cover procedures across a business function, eg how to install server
Work Instructions that are the most granular set of instructions, eg how to apply a patch to a server, how to attach a wing mirror to a car.

Over to you.

When you’re writing Work Instructions, how do you present the information so that it works by itself? I assume many WIs are ripped out and use on-site and literally in the field.

I’m new to this area of documentation, so please jump in.

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How to Fix Corrupt & Damaged Microsoft Word Documents – Part 2

Ivan Walsh — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 11:23:00 +0000

Last week we showed you how Bullet Lists can crash MS Word. We outlined some techniques to reduce the file size, mostly by creating pre-formatted bullet lists in advance. But what happens if you’re given a User Guide that’s already bloated to massive proportions. It’s too late to create new styles at this stage.

Here’s what to do.

1. Open the User Guide in Microsoft Word.

2. Cut and paste every graphic from the file into an image-editing tool, such as Snagit.

Create a naming convention, (e.g. Page1-A.gif, Page1-B.gif etc) and name each graphic using the same naming convention.

WARNING: DON’T SAVE THE FILE YET!

3. In Word, select File, Save As HTML.

Name the file with an HTML extension, e.g. Proposal.html and then close Word.

4. Re-open Word. Select File, Open and select the Proposal.html file.

5. Select File, Save As and save Proposal.html with a .doc extension, e.g. Proposal.doc.

TIP: This process of converting the Microsoft Word file into HTML and back into Word, removes unnecessary (i.e. corrupt) code in the file and will significantly reduce the file size.

6. Insert the graphic back in the correct order.

I’ve seen Word files larger than 20 MB reduced to less than 3MB in less than one minute by using this technique. Might be worth a try! The reason you don’t save the file at Step 2 is because this would trigger Word into action (e.g. I WILL now save this file etc) and as it struggles to save the oversized file, will probably crash the application.

I hoped you enjoyed these articles on fixing corrupt or damaged documents. What’s been your experience using Word?

About the Author: Ivan Walsh shares Action Plan Tips at Klariti. He also creates Business Plans for SMEs

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Using LinkedIn To Find Technical Writing Contract Work

Ivan Walsh — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 10:55:00 +0000

I’ve had some reservations about LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com/in/ivanwalsh) and didn’t join up until last year. Most of the technical writers I spoke to didn’t seem to get much return on the site and looked elsewhere. I should add that most of these were job-hunting and looking to make quick connections. For them it didn’t work.

Does LinkedIn Help Find Contract Work?

For me, of the three main Social Media networks, (Facebook and Twitter the others) I’ve got the most returns from LinkedIn. I didn’t find a job – but I wasn’t looking for one – though I made very good connections. Much deeper than on Facebook.

Someone asked me during the week what they were doing wrong on LinkedIn. I don’t think they were doing anything wrong per se but maybe the approach was a bit hit and miss. I’ve joined over forty groups but now focus on five only. The returns are higher.

They also made the point on one of the LinkedIn groups that they’ve found work by teaming up with 2 other people (software developer and web designer) as this approach seemed to work better.

I think the point he was making is that if you’re ‘just a tech writer’ it’s easy to get fobbed off – “we don’t need any tech docs right now, thanks.”

But, AS A TEAM, he found work in areas outside his usual network, for example in:

Government contracting, e.g. proposal development. Found this from a ‘non-IT’ person he met in the Chamber of Commerce who needed a helping hand. Now he has a foot in the door, re RFP work.
Direct mail (i.e. copywriting, the type of work he usually wouldn’t have looked at (or got) before)
Content Creation – they need an intranet and he got the job as the content developer. But the job came thru the programmer friend.

Someone also made the point that technical writers should focus on specialist areas rather than general IT. For example, developing content for mobile devices, developing content for industries, e.g. Energy, and looking at where they can dominate an area rather than being AN Other tech writer.

For those thinking about LinkedIn, I’d suggest joining a few groups, ask questions and help out. Once you’ve built some credibility, folks will start emailing you offline and asking questions, sharing ideas, looking for help.

Trust is key. I do my best to chip in and share what I know. Most people pick up on that (I hope!) and the returns for me are visits to the site, email signups and projects I can do at home.

Over to you. What’s been your experience with LinkedIn?

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Stop Your Technical Documents From Crashing – Part 1

Ivan Walsh — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 04:10:00 +0000

Is there anything worse than writing User Guides all afternoon and then… Word crashes! If your Microsoft Word files suddenly become huge and start crashing, here’s a few ways to fix it. I’ve creating some very long technical documents in Microsoft Word and learnt a few ways to control these documents.

MS Word. Click top red arrow to expand/show the Style Menu.

And it’s not just business writers, in the world of technical publishing, Microsoft Word also gets a bad rap. Many feel that it’s unstable and crashing. It can also bloat in size until your operating system grinds to a halt.

the Problem with Bullet Lists & Large MS Word files

The first offender is Bullet Lists. If there is one thing that’s guaranteed to crash Microsoft Word, it’s bullet lists.

Here’s what tends to happen.

When you click a Bullet List from the Word toolbar, Word points this Bullet List to the Normal.dot file. In other words, it uses the default settings in Normal.dot and then applies these. Fine.

No problem! That’s what it’s supposed to do.

But….

If you cut and paste a Bulleted List from one business report into your working file, then Microsoft Word has a problem.

Which Bullet List is the Master Bullet List?

It can’t tell because suddenly you have two bullet lists in your document.

And…

If you add a third bullet style, maybe with nice styling or cool fonts, it has a nervous breakdown. Microsoft Word can’t tell which is which and begins to struggle.

How to stop Word Crashing & Losing your Technical Documents

Here’s what to do:

Open Word and create a separate Style for each type of bullet lists you need. For example create a Bullet Regular, Bullet List Indent, Bullet Square and so on.
When you need to use a bullet list, select the appropriate style from the Styles drop-down menu.
This is the Home tab in Microsoft Word 2007.
If you want to import a bullet list from another document,
Copy the text into a blank document.
Select it, and in the Style menu, select Clear All.
NB: This removes all formatting.
Paste it into the working document.
Apply the correct style.

I know this seems like more work but it’s not. Just paste into a blank document, remove the formatting and then paste it in. Your files will stop crashing and will be easier to manage.

You can get a set of User Guide templates with pre-formatted style here.

In the next article, we’ll look at other ways to reduce large Microsoft Word files. Let me know if you’ve any problem with this or share them below..

About the Author: Ivan Walsh shares business tips for smart people at Klariti. He also runs a Blog for Internet Business Plans. Follow me on Twitter.

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How Technical Writers Could Use Twitter

Ivan Walsh — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 03:14:47 +0000

Twitter is about publishing. Twitter is about writing. And it’s about having fun, making connections and sharing things. I’ve made a focused effort to use Twitter a little more strategically since May as it tied in with some other business aims. And it’s started to work. Here are some ways I use Twitter and some ways I don’t!

Do’s And Don’ts For Using Twitter

Please don’t …

Thank me for following you. I don’t read DMs as I get over one hundred and fifty every day and it’s just not possible.
Get angry with me for not thanking you for following me.
Send me get rich quick schemes or introduce me to ‘Natasha.’ I’m fine thanks
Tweet every mundane details of your everyday life. Some is fine but I don’t need a running commentary of your daily life. No one does! No, really, they don’t.
Tweet embarrassing (for me to read) private details of your significant relationships. And your partner may not want it in the twittersphere either.
Moan, especially about Microsoft Word. You try and build a better office suite and see how far you get.
Start flame wars with people in twitter. They’re out there, just ignore them.

Please do …

Tweet things that are interesting. Such as… pictures, articles, websites, news items, exhibitions, shows, tutorials. You get the idea. Share, share, share
Help others. Reach out to those who ask questions and see if you can point them in the right direction.
Tweet your own blog posts. I’m still amazed that technical writers write so little. C’mon, folks get a blog like these guys.
Share quotes, sayings, and interesting thoughts.
Share jokes and humorous items. We all need a laugh during the day. I use Twitter at short breaks and catch up with friends. If you share something funny, I’ll pass it on to them.
Use Hootsuite or Tweetdeck so you can track by keyword, monitor things, and share information quicker
Create lists like this http://twitter.com/ihearttechdocs/technicalwritingtips and follow all of these wonderful technical writers as they tweet.
Follow other lists like this http://twitter.com/Arroxane/techcomm from @Arroxane
Retweet others tweets. This is the fastest way – by far – to increase your number of followers
Re-write tweets to make them more interesting. You’re a writer, go on, give it a go! Think of it as a challenge. How can I make this tweet more interesting?
Add hashtags like this #techcomms. But don’t go overboard. One is fine.
Track your Twitter stats on http://twittercounter.com/compare/ihearttechdocs/month/followers. This is my list. See how it’s grown in the past 30 days.

Write, re-tweet and be interesting.

What else?

I’m @ihearttechdocs

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Review of MadCap Feedback

Ivan Walsh — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 03:24:44 +0000

MadCap has released a product – MadCap Feedback – that is new to me and looks like it has a nice set of features especially if you want to close the loop between technical writers/technical communicators and end users. And who doesn’t want to do that!. Its Feedback Server has a Web 2.0 reporting tool that gives technical authors, information designers, and educational content developers insight into the end-user experience.

MadCap Feedback: Image Copyright MadCap Software

MadCap Feedback overview

Using Feedback Server’s reporting tools you can learn what:

Content is most useful
Content could be improved
Content may be missing from your documentation.

The idea is that by analyzing the data, you can then go back and improve the quality of your information and, in theory, ‘make your users part of the technical communication process’. I’m not sure how that works in the real world but will follow up with the folks at Madcap.

MadCap Feedback Server

Use can use the server aspect of the tool to:

Gain insight into what users are looking for, finding, and not finding
Improve author-reader connection by allowing readers to rate topics and add comments
Respond to user comments without republishing content
Create actionable feedback charts from user statistics

How It Works

Create Content — Author a project in Flare and create desired output(s).
Implement Feedback — Install Feedback on your company web server or choose MadCap’s hosted service.
Output with Feedback — Within Flare, choose to include Feedback Web 2.0 features in your target output(s).
Users Submit Feedback — Users viewing your content can now rate and comment on quality and usefulness of a topic.
Analyze Results — View search activity, user comments and ratings.
Improve Content — Add search synonyms, edit, and add new content based on user feedback.

For a complete list of new features, download: MadCap Feedback Server V3 What’s New Guide PDF.

Price

It costs $2,499 which ain’t cheap. Get the demo here http://www.madcapsoftware.com/products/feedback/overview.aspx

Your thoughts

What interests me most about this product is its aim to ‘make your users part of the technical communication process’. Like I said, I’m not sure how that works in the real terms. If you’ve used this product or have some thought, please add them below.

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Information Architecture: Using Cards To Index, Organize and Structure User-Focused Websites

Ivan Walsh — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 09:57:54 +0000

One of the alternative careers I’ve considered as a Technical Writer is Information Architecture. Information Architecture is worth considering if you’re attracted to organization of data, for example, indexing, rather than writing. I get a bit tired to typing at times and enjoy other tech comms activities such as analysis, diagramming, and documentation planning. This short article gives some insight into how Information Architecture is used when developing websites. So, for those of who want to retain your writing skills and move into web-facing career, maybe Information Architecture is worth exploring.

Using Cards To Index, Organize and Structure User-Focused Websites

In order for any site to be successful, you need to arrange the information so that users can make find the relevant content quickly. While most websites are content-driven, many designers underestimate how difficult it is to arrange a site structure that is easily understood by both novice and experienced users.

Why is this?

Maybe it’s because we are trained from childhood to retrieve data in certain ways, for example in library systems we use chronological order and subject categories; or alphabetical listings in phone books, and later we use this method when using other media such as the Internet.

The Role of Information Architecture

Prior to any graphic design or coding taking place, an Information Architect will gather, sort and organize the content.

Card sorting is one way to organize groups of information:

Create cards for all the topics on the site. For example, if it’s a sport portal, create cards for Football, Basketball etc
Sub-divide these categories into Leagues, Players, Stats, venues etc that are most appropriate.
Label them as you work and cross-reference any cards that overlap.
Define the optimal organization structure based on the data you have gathered.
Test the structure by performing mock tasks i.e. how do I find information about Michael Jordan, when he played softball.

Prepare Flowcharts
Next, prepare flowcharts that outline the overall site structure, showing all pages, respective navigation paths between sections and content labels. The advantage of using a flowchart is that all parties in the development process can see the site’s information architecture structure and make suggestions to remedy, alter or delete sections as needs be.

Unless information is flowcharted there is likely to be misunderstandings between departments when the site is released.

“I’d thought that it would do this…”

“I’d thought that it would be more energetic…”

“I’d thought that it would be, y’know, different…”

Breakdown Each Page
Then for each main section prepare an itemized list of its contents.

Include text, images, sounds, video clips, audio clips, applets and all downloadable items.

List all links and their destination pages.

Divide the links which appear on all pages, i.e. Contact Us, from those that will only appear on specific pages. If this list is being prepared in Excel or Word it is useful to color-code the lists for quicker reference.

By breaking down each page you will reduce any misunderstanding about its content objects and its functions. For example, designing pages within a Shopping Cart require considerable attention to detail as each separate page needs to be prepared correctly. Any omission of data may cause the user to leave the shopping section and search for it elsewhere.

Design for Breadth
Studies into HCI and Usability have shown that users get disorientated once they go past the third level of depth on a site. Therefore your site plans should enable users to find any data within three clicks. If you can’t achieve this with the current design then go back to the flowchart and begin again — the rewards will be worth the efforts.

Prior to any graphic design takes place, it is necessary to gather, sort and organize the content. The more time spent on this the greater the ability for users to retrieve your data.

Finally, when performing user analysis record how users perform tasks and make modifications to the site structure based on this feedback.

Remember websites are built to please users, not graphic designers.

Use the feedback to record the steps users take to perform tasks. Create flow diagrams showing the relationship between each content object and their surrounding elements based on the test subject’s performance.

PS – If you want me to cover this in more depth, please say so in the Comments below.

About the Author: Ivan Walsh is a technical writer with a weakness for documentation plan guides. His also runs a video marketing blog at www.videocameraschool.com

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37 Ways To Be a More Productive Writer

Ivan Walsh — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 05:24:00 +0000

Post by Ivan Walsh. Follow me on Twitter.

Working in China means more business writing and less technical writing, especially proposal development, web marketing case studies and white papers. As a few of the folks I hang out with on LinkedIn are also moving into business writing, I thought I’d add a few tips for business writing. While there is some overlap with technical writing, it does require a different mindset, for example, to understand the emotional drivers that persuade customers to accept or reject business proposals.

37 Ways To Be a More Productive Writer

This article on business writing reminds us that our sales, marketing, business, and proposal development does not stand alone. It is part of a larger process that involves planning, research, writing, editing, proofing, submission and acceptance.

37 Tips to Double Your Business Writing Productivity

This list gives 37 ways to improve your next proposal. Scroll through it and tell me what I missed.

Show that your response is logical and organized
Make the information easy to find. Cross reference against the Request For Proposal
Include a table of contents for proposals over 10 pages in length
Ensure that your Proposal is in compliance with the RFP
Arrange material in order of priority to the reader
Arrange everything in the order that’s most important to the client
Arrange the response in accordance with their requirements
Number pages and sections consecutively; do not re-number each section
Use headings
Each section title should stresses the main benefits
Each section title should help readers orient themselves
If possible, express the key point of the section in the headline, or immediately after it.
Highlight important points
You can emphasize the most positive points by using bold, underlining, different fonts, spacing, titles, bullets and summaries
Content – Sell the Message
Respond completely
Answer every question in the RFP. Failure to respond correctly to the RFP may disqualify your proposal. The client put these questions in for a reason, and expect an answer.
Avoid banal headings and titles
Rather than say “Development Section,” say “Ten Ways to Improve Your Processes”
Use action verbs in heads, especially verbs that stress a benefit for the client
Avoid boilerplate
Don’t recycle resumes and corporate profiles from previous proposals; modify them in accordance for the proposal at hand. Using old, tired resumes will be perceived by the reader, and will count against you when they can making the final judgments.
Avoid hype, padding and other self-congratulatory drivel. Remember that the proposal is a legal document that becomes part of the contract if you win
Support your recommendations
By giving specific details and quantifying the benefits whenever possible
Don’t just say that you will comply with a requirement — say how we’ll do so
Don’t attack competitors. Refer to rival products if you must.
Point out the weaknesses of alternative solutions.
Use a strong closing statement
Ask for their business; tell the reader exactly what you want him or her to do
Remind the reader of the benefits of taking action
Avoid business cliché’s
Avoid hackneyed openings and closings that clients have read a thousand times. Avoid “I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for considering the enclosed . . .” Get to the point: “Here is your proposal.” Avoid “If you have any questions, please feel free to call.” That closing has been done to death, so avoid it and write something more genuine.
Make your proposal easy to understand
Use the same terms and jargon that appear in the RFP. Don’t try to impress the client with your own special brand of buzzwords or TLA (three-letter acronyms)
Use simple, direct language
Wrap up the Proposal with confidence

What did I miss?

About the Author: Ivan Walsh is a left-handed technical writer who writes business proposals for clients. He also gives business writing tips for smart people at Klariti.

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Visio Power Tips #12: Move Multiple Shapes With A Single Click

Ivan Walsh — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 10:48:00 +0000

Post written by Ivan Walsh. Follow me on twitter

I use Microsoft Visio to create flowcharts, business process maps, use case diagrams and other type of documents. One way to create these diagrams faster is to group shapes & images, so you update all the shapes at the same time. You can also move the shapes back and forwards on the worksheet.

Visio Power Tips: Move Shapes With A Single Click

How do you move several shapes at the same time in Visio? You can move several shapes, blocks of text and other items by grouping them into a single ‘object’. The principle is the same as grouping objects in Microsoft Word and PowerPoint. Here’s how it works in Visio.

How to Group & Move Shapes In Visio

You can move several shapes at the same time in Visio as follows:

Drag your mouse over the shapes you want to ‘group’.
To group the entire page, do Ctrl + A (Select All).
To group shapes which are next to each other, drag your mouse over the shapes.
To group shapes in different parts of the page (e.g. if you want to shapes in different parts of the page) hold down SHIFT and then click on each shape you want to select. Click, click, click!
Visio highlights the shapes that you selected with little green handles.
Right-click and then select Shape, Group. The shapes and lines you selected are now grouped.
Select this shape and drag it across the page, or to another Visio diagram, and it will move as one unit, i.e. grouping. You can also use the arrow keys to nudge it across the page.
To un-group the shapes, right-click and then select UnGroup.

Note that you can also move the group to the back (or bring to the front), for example, if you want it to float behind another image.

What tips do you have to make Visio diagrams more professional looking?

About the Author: Ivan Walsh is a technical writer with a weakness for documentation plan guides. His also runs a video marketing blog at www.videocameraschool.com

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5 Reasons Women Technical Writers Are Better Than The Boys

Ivan Walsh — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 08:17:00 +0000

Post written by Ivan Walsh. Follow me on twitter

Technical Writing attracts women. They’re very good at it and make great team leads. Maybe I’ve been very lucky but it ‘seems’ that the girls are better as technical writers than men. Am I right?

5 Reasons Women Technical Writers Are Better Than The Boys

Here are five areas where I think they have the edge of the guys.

1. Communication

When I started technical writing, my days were mostly spent cranking out User Guides in Adobe FrameMaker. Little did I know that a large part of my day would be spend chasing developers for specs, calling testers for bug reports, and working with customers (often non-English) to update the Release Notes.

Less than 40% of my time is spent writing.

Where does the rest go?

Talking to customers, business analysts, developers, security, and sys admins.

I’m flagging this upfront as one of the big shocks for junior Technical Writers (i.e. gradates) is how little time they may spend writing. Information comes from multiple sources. You, as the technical writer, have to coordinate this information flow and get to know those who supply it.

This is where I feel female technical writers have an edge over their male counterparts.

Most guys want/expect the documents to fall into their laps. The release notes SHOULD be given to them on-time. The reality is that people can be lazy, inefficient or downright dishonest.

So, you sometimes have to go over and haggle with these guys. Sound familiar?

Blokes get very tetchy in these situations.

“You promised it would be ready.”

“Did you read the status report – you’re on it. Where is MY document?”

It can get really intense.

Girls, on the other hand, seem to be more pro-active in these situations. If things are slipping onto it, they start chasing up. And they’ll let you know.

Why?

I think most women have a built-in BS detector.

When they get fed a porker (lie) by the developers they can feel it straightaway and start making contingencies.

Guys, naively, believe what they’re told.

They’re ‘optimistic’, which is another way of saying deluded.

2. Doing Interviews

Interviewing is one of the cornerstones of technical writing. You might not think it at first, but the more my career advanced, the more time was spent with Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) such as IT Architects, discussing how the application worked.

For many writers this can be an issue.

While the writing may be easy for them, going out and meeting people may not. I know many technical writers who dread workshops, sessions, and group meetings. They don’t like the spotlight and prefer to type away – talking to people isn’t for them.

Maybe that’s why they’re writers. It’s a solitary type of activity.

Most women writers I know don’t have this problem. Not that they are all chatty types, but somehow the interactions, the discussion of ideas, is more suited to them.

Important!

Also, men can often get into defensive mode with each other quite quickly. Developers can be quick to offend, especially if another (male) points out some flaw in the design.

For whatever reason, the same observations when made by a women, don’t upset them so much.

Maybe they don’t see women as a direct threat or (my feeling) they are brought up stand their ground with other men but to accommodate the views of women.

I’ve seen many a shouting match between guys in the workplace but I’ve yet to see it with a female colleague. Maybe they scream when they get home…

3. Coping with Stress

Men don’t do well under stress. What happens when things get difficult? When you’re behind schedule or are about to miss a deadline?

You’re holding up the show! Whatta gonna do?

Guys worker harder, faster and more aggressively to get it out. It’s all about speed. Quicker, faster is the mantra. This may work in the short term but it leads to burn-out and, more than likely, breakdown in relations with other team members.

With the girls it tends to be different.

It’s not that they’re not upset or concerned with the looming deadline but the attitude (and plan of action) is different.

Whereas guys will run to the safety of their cubicle, girls will bring the team together and see if (as a team) they can reach the deadline.

Why is this?

I think for men, missing a deadline is an admission of failure.

“You couldn’t do it, could you?”

“You failed!”

It’s peer pressure like this that drives them (literally) insane and pushes them to make these kinds of efforts.

Women, in contrast, try to come together.

“How can we fix this?”

There is tension but it rarely deteriorates into slanging matches.

4. Emotional Intelligence & Multi-tasking

I’m grouping these together as they are equally important.

Which do I cut out?

Not sure, so I’m leaving them both in.

Emotional Intelligence relates to the previous points in that to be a successful writer you need writing skills, knowledge of the tools, but also the ability to get others to open up.

There is an element of detective work to technical writing. You’re always trying to dig out information and figure out why other won’t give you certain pieces of information or when they do, it’s late.

The finely-tuned antenna of female technical writers gives them an edge over the boys. My week as a technical writer involves a range of activities. Writing is only one of my activities. And, the more my career advances, the less writing I do.

5. Team Spirit & Morale

I’ve been in this game 18 years and, with only one exception, the best technical writers I worked with have been women. I guess I’m referring to team leads here. One of the small things I’ve also noticed is that technical writing depts tended to be a close group.

You didn’t always get that with the developers as they can be an element of completion – who can create the smartest app or write the best code. Lots of jockeying for position and, in an indirect way, looking for peer recognition. Women read the emotional landscape better than men.

What your take on this?

Have I missed something screamingly obvious? Do women make better technical writers than men?

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Kate Winslet’s 7 Secret Ways to Revise Technical Documents

Ivan Walsh — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 02:15:00 +0000

What can Kate Winslet teach you about proof-reading technical documents? Watch the movie The Reader and it will make sense. If she was writing this blog, she’d probably say: “Don’t do it all at once! One of the biggest mistakes you can make when revising any technical document, is to do it all in one go. You can’t!” And she’d be right.

7 Secret Ways to Revise Technical Documents

Make it easy on yourself and focus on one area at a time. Instead of revising the document in one session, break out the tasks and revise the document by task. For example, start with checking the facts, then the spelling, how the document flows, cross-references, footers, index entries and so on.

Seven Ways to Revise Technical Documents.

Overview – In the opening section, do you have a statement, a sentence or two that states the main point or argument of your document? Likewise, is there a conclusion that ties together all the points made in your document?
Tasks – Does your user guide address the user’s requirements? Check the document to see if you addressed each task and provided enough information for the user to perform the task.
Structure – Does the document flow? Make sure each topic connects clearly and logically. Do the topic sentences of each paragraph relate to the subject matter?
Accuracy – Is the information correct? Is it adequately documented? Have you tested the document so that it helps the reader to perform their tasks?
Language – Do you use specific language? Avoid vague terms such as in the event of, thing, factors, and over reliance on unclear pronouns like “this” and “it.”
Drafts – Technical Writing involves writing multiple drafts. This means that after each draft, you need to check that the edits have been included in the correct draft.
Read Aloud – Get into the habit of reading your documents aloud. If you have trouble reading a sentence clearly and smoothly, it probably needs to be rewritten. And if it sounds wrong to your ear, then that’s a warning sign that something needs to be corrected.

PS – I also use a checklist to check off the different tasks as I revise technical document. This is especially helpful if you’re working late or are revising several documents in succession.

One mistake to avoid is to focus on one area, for example spelling, and overlook other areas, for example, the accuracy of the material. While the reader may forgive you for the occasional spelling mistake, they won’t be impressed if the material itself is incorrect.

How do you revise your documents? What mistakes do you see most often?

About the Author: Ivan Walsh is a 40 something technical writer with a weakness for documentation plan guides. His other obsession is video blogging at http://www.videocameraschool.com/

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How Tai Chi Will Make You a Better Technical Writer

Ivan Walsh — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 07:06:00 +0000

Post written by Ivan Walsh. Follow me on twitter

I spend 10 hours a day writing user guides, online help and other such delights. One of the hazards of working these long hours is migraine, back pain and (literally) a pain in the neck. You can get away with this in your 20s, but as you get older you need to take greater care of your health. I really hate jogging (: and looked for an alternative form of exercise. I found Tai Chi.

The Tai Chi Guide to Technical Writing

I start work at 6 a.m. most days. By 12am I’m ready for a break. Usually I walk by the canal or hit the gym. But, it gets a bit monotonous. All those thread-mills pounding along. And no-one ever looks happy in the gym. All so serious – fight the flab!

My local gym (I’m in Beijing, great place!) offer Tai Chi classes every Thursday. So, why not? Along I went.

Now, I’m pretty sporty and have done yoga, dancing and other such activities.

How hard can it be?

It is really hard.

No, really, really hard.

What’s difficult is the simplicity of the whole thing

If you tighten up, get tense, or start to get negative, then you’ll lose your footing and look a bit of a clown. Luckily, our teacher (it’s a group class) is very calm and shepherds us along. Bit by bit we got there.

Remember all of this is in Chinese – and you know more Chinese than I do!

At a certain point, I felt defeated. Despite my best efforts, I could not get it.

Also, I’m left-handed (first excuse!) so I ended up doing all the steps back to front, backwards and upside down. It really was crushing but I kept a brave face and went on.

By the way, all the others were ladies — and no-one spoke a word of English. Let’s say I soon became light entertainment.

Why not?

But then it clicked.

I did a few turns, swayed this way and completed a small routine. A minor triumph. After that I went home and re-started on my technical writing.

So, did this improve your user guides?

Yes.

Tai Chi makes you:

1. Stop your mind.

For this I am very grateful. It’s so difficult at first, you have to just stop thinking and ‘feel’ how it works.

2. Eat less

I noticed that after I finish, I tend to eat a smaller lunch, maybe a salad and feel more calm. Not sedated, Calm.

3. Sleep better

I try to do 10 min at night when junior is in bed. It seems to slow down the machine. Thoughts, worries, deadlines melt away.

4. Less time-wasting

The lesson is about 45 min every Thursday, so I gave up a few other activities. In real terms, it meant less time on social media sites, checking email and other time-killers.

Once you stop doing these things, you realize how pointless they really are – or for me anyway.

5. Better documents

This is the acid test, isn’t it?

When you sleep well as night, eat better, feel calm, are in less pain, and waste less time twittering with some jezebel, then you’re output is bound to improve.

How about you?

What do you do to take care of your health? Do you find Tai Chi, Yoga, or other such activities really make a difference?

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Visio Power Tips #11: Rotate, Change & Flip Text

Ivan Walsh — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 12:01:00 +0000

Post written by Ivan Walsh. Follow me on twitter

Last week I showed you how to use Microsoft Visio to create business process maps, use case diagrams, flowcharts. org charts, and other type of documents. This week, we’ll look at text. How to add, change, flip and control the text in your diagrams. For example, if you have a lot of shapes in the same flowchart – and need to add text instructions – it can be hard for the reader to see the text clearly. This makes your diagram looks crowded and hard for business analysts to understand the process flow or use case.

How To Control the Position of Text On Lines

Here is one way to control how text is positioned in your Visio diagrams.

Double-click on the text.
Use the slider to move the text along the line.
Click the yellow arrow to move the entire block of text along the line.
This lets you nudge the text closer to endpoints and to squeeze in more text, especially in tight diagrams where there is not much space.

How To Rotate & Flip Text

Another trick is to flip the text.

Select the blue curved line and do copy/paste.
Right-click on the copy and then do Shape, Flip Vertical.
This flips copy upside down. Select the line and nudge it until it snaps to the shapes.

Remember to use the Format, Line option to control the visual appearance of your diagrams. A few minutes can make all the difference between a boring black and white diagram and a really stunning presentation.

What tips do you have to make Visio diagrams more professional looking?

About the Author: Ivan Walsh is a technical writer with a weakness for documentation plan guides. His also runs a video marketing blog at www.videocameraschool.com

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How to Get A Technical Writing Degree Online

Ivan Walsh — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 08:01:00 +0000

Post written by Ivan Walsh. Follow me on twitter

Earlier this year we asked if Online Degrees in Technical Writing as Good as Real World Universities? The response was mostly positive. The University of Limerick, Ireland offers an excellent online course for those who want to study technical writing at home. This university has a fantastic campus, specializes in the Arts and provides a conveyor belt of freshly-minted technical writers to Microsoft, Google and IBM in Ireland. It’s one of the few universities in Europe with a specialist degree in Technical Communications.

Online Technical Writing Courses

This distance-learning programme was introduced in 2001 to provide flexible access to technical communication modules for people unable to attend a full-time course. The Technical Communication modules at the University of Limerick focus on writing for the IT industry, and on Instructional Design for E-learning.

Objectives

To provide students with a good grounding in the theory and practice of technical communication;
To provide tuition on the main tools of the profession;
To equip graduates with a professional qualification in the area of technical communication.

Program

Semester 1
Principles of Professional and Technical Communications and Information Design, Technical Communication Theory.

Semester 2
Workplace Issues in Technical Communication,
Information Management and Content Production.

Careers

Technical writing for telecommunications and software companies, instructional design for e-learning products, Web design, technical journalism, IT training, documentation project management, editing private contracting, abstract writing

Entrance Requirements

Normally a primary degree in any discipline. Industrial and/or computing experience is an advantage (Primary Degree: Level 8 NQAI). Applicants must have a high standard of written English, and good basic knowledge of computing (ECDL or equivalent). Applicants must have access to the Internet from home or work to participate in the course.

Contact

Department: Languages and Cultural Studies.
Course director: Yvonne Cleary
Email : yvonne.cleary@ul.ie

Postgraduate Admissions Office,

Graduate School,

University of Limerick,

Limerick,

Ireland

Tel: +353-61-234377

Fax: +353-61-233287

Email: postgradadmissions@ul.ie

Website: www.graduateschool.ul.ie

You can read more here: http://www2.ul.ie

Let me know if you have any problems contacting Yvonne or the University. Drop them a line if you’re interested.

About the Author: Ivan Walsh is a technical writer with a weakness for documentation plan guides. His also runs a video marketing blog at www.videocameraschool.com

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Can She Lead? Are Women Better Technical Writing Managers Than Men?

Ivan Walsh — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 04:58:00 +0000

The Harvard Business Review asks What the U.S. Can Learn From Europe About Gender Equality in the Workplace, and then Can She Lead? These articles raise the sensitive issue of a) whether women make good bosses, 2) want to be bosses and (slightly controversially), 3) will men support women bosses or do their best to defeat them? One argument is that many men don’t feel comfortable playing second fiddle to a women boss. Yes, I know there are exceptions but… So, while men tend to become CEOs etc due to networks/old boy’s clubs etc, most women, regardless of their ability may not get this opportunity.

Percentage of Women in High Level Positions

The Center for Work-Life Policy announced that while 47% of college-educated entry-level corporate professionals are female, women comprise a mere:

21% of senior executives,
17% of Congress and
15% of board directors

Do Women Make Good Business Leaders?

The Harvard Business Review articles raise three issues:

Masculine vs. Feminine women: Ambition in women is often misinterpreted as aggression. Laura Lopez writes about how toughness from a woman can be taken differently than toughness from a man. Similarly, women who allow their "feelings" to get in the way are perceived as too weak to lead and run others. This paradox can leave women unsure about how to best behave and people doubting their intentions as leaders.
Belonging vs. Competing: Dr. Roy Baumeister showed that humans have a desire and need to belong, yet women and men differ on how they handle this. He says that women tend to prefer close and intimate relationships, while men tend to go for shallower connections in a larger group of people or a cause. This can lead to men thriving in competitive environments involving networking and competing with their peers, and can result in women avoiding jobs that will place them in direct competition for advancement with their peers to preserve close friendships.
Family Life vs. Work Life: In "Opting Out: Why Women Really Quit Careers and Head Home" Pamela Stone highlights the institutional obstacles and cultural pressures that lead many women to be pushed out of work. This dilemma draws many women away from high-profile careers to stay with the kids at home.

The article concludes by saying that, "Female leaders can rise to the top as they embrace their own strengths as women and maintain a leadership style that is embedded in their individuality. This is what will draw others near, inspire, and motivate. It will also require society to respect women for the strengths they posses?"

Is this true?

Do you see this happening in the workplace? Do you support your female boss as much as your male boss? What are the blind spots and politically correct behavior that stops this from happening?

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20 Tips For Home-based Technical Writers Who Want to Stay Sane

Ivan Walsh — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 06:52:00 +0000

Post by Ivan Walsh. Follow me on Twitter.

Most of my technical writing work is done from home. I’ve worked from my home office for almost eight years. Some tech writing contracts are on-site, but mostly, I work in my home office. Actually, for the past 19 months, this means working in my ‘bedroom’. More on this later. I’m married, with a little nipper, and friends are always popping over for a chat. Did I mention that I’m also working from China?

20 Tips For Home-based Technical Writers

Attitude – you have to learn to take the rough with the smooth. People will interrupt you, the web will go down, all kind of things will go wrong. So keep your attitude positive, otherwise go back to the office.
Monitor – get the largest monitor you can. Like the girl says in the ad – it’s ‘because you’re worth it’! Seriously, this had made a huge difference to my health, productivity and sanity.PS: if you work for yourself you can always claim it back as an expense.
Nice Chair – it doesn’t sound like much, but if you spend 10 hours per day sitting down, get the best you can. I have nice chair with a high back and good support. It really makes a difference.Warning – don’t use the kitchen chair. You’ll weaken your back and once it goes, or you slip a disc, you’ll regret it. Invest in your health.
Health — I go to the gym between 11-1 about twice a week. I really try to get out for a walk, for at least an hour. You will go mad — and worse! — if you stay glued to the PC for long hours. Long walks blow the cob-webs away. Also badminton and swimming seem to help reduce neck and lower back pains. Badminton forces you to look UP! Yoga is also great.
Schedule — Stick to a schedule, otherwise you’ll never stop working. Up at 6. Start at 6.15 am, school run at 7.30, back at 8.30, work till 11, gym till 12.30, and lunch till 1.30. Then work flat-out until 5.30. School run. Then more from 9.30-11 if possible.
Weekends — I try to keep these two free but usually end up dabbling with lighter stuff , like changing the WordPress theme again!
Fruit — I keep lots of fruit next to my PC. Avoid snacking on sugars and candy. I have a grapefruit next to me (which has a great kick) and some dates. Plain Yogurt also helps. Add honey and black pepper if you want some flavor.
Hot Coffee – here’s a trick if you eat the stuff for fun. Buy a nice, expensive expresso cup. It has to be SMALL. Only use this for drinking coffee. So, I still have 4 cups a day, but the size in cut down. It’s a stupid trick but it seems to work.
Sign on the door – If you have a conference call coming up, walk around the house and remind everyone. I know it sounds dumb but if you don’t, they’ll walk in the middle of your presentation. Hang a sign on the door if needs be saying ‘At Work’ or something like that.
Intervals – you can’t work flat-out all day. Work for 20-30 min, stop, get up and do something, then get back to work. The key is to get UP and walk away from the PC.
Stretch it!— learn 5 yoga exercises and stretch your next, shoulders, lower back and legs a few times a day. Nothing crazy. Just get into the habit of stretching.
Walk after lunch — a quick 15 minutes walk helps digest your food. Skip this and you’ll be falling asleep, looking for coffee, at 3 pm or so.
Routine – I use Google Calendar to plan my week. Stick to the schedule. Create your routine and stick to it.
Interruptions from friends — one way to get rid of the unwanted guest (you know the type) is to remind them that you’ve a conference call coming up. It’s better than saying “go away, some of us have got things to do.” Just be polite and head off. Skype is great if you do have to make conf calls.
Interruptions from family part 1 — a bit trickier admittedly. You need to be realistic here. It’s naïve to expect a 7 year to understand that you have to update your status report or whatever. Why not go out a kick a ball? You may as well. If you stay inside, you’ll just feel guilty. Anyway, isn’t this why you wanted to be at home?
Interruptions from family part 2 — ok, you need to work. Cut a deal. Say, give me 20 minutes, let me finish this and then we’ll play. It usually works. Other tricks involve pacifying the child with yu-geeo cards, football magazines, or whatever keeps them busy for a while. You need to be creative, so plan ahead and always have some things in store.
Avoid time-wasting activities — if your kids are on holiday or have a short school day (e.g. finishes at 1.30) try to avoid time-wasting activities wherever possible. How to? Unsubscribe from newsletters, forget the News, ignore Facebook, turn off Twitter. Do the important things done first.
Other parents – if you have kids consider picking up a friends kid(s) one day a week, so they have a few spare hours to do their work. Later in the week, they can return the favor.
Know when to Stop — many freelancers burn out because they can’t pace themselves. I try to stop at 6pm. Sometimes I have to go past this but if you don’t have a cut-off point you’ll end up working non-stop. This is a real problem for freelancers, small business owners.
Sleep — don’t fall asleep watching Lost. If you’re tired, go to bed.AND don’t take your laptop to bed or into the toilet!

Tomorrow is another day.

What have I missed?

Let me know if you work from home what works best for you.

About the Author: Ivan Walsh is a technical writer with a weakness for documentation plan guides. His also runs a video marketing blog at www.videocameraschool.com

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10 Ways to Create Strong Passwords That You Can Remember Easily

Ivan Walsh — Fri, 28 May 2010 02:06:00 +0000

How strong are your passwords? In the movie SpaceBalls, the password to all the earth’s natural resources was…12345. It’s a comedy but you get the idea. All those efforts to control the planet and the password is child’s play. I attended a course in London last year and one of the topics covered security. Here are some ways to strengthen your passwords and also how to show others the mistakes to avoid.

10 Ways to avoid weak, easy-to-guess passwords

This week we look at how to setup a strong password and test its strength. I’ll also look at the type of mistakes people make when creating passwords and how to avoid these.

Avoid sequences of word or repeated characters. Examples of these are “12345678,” “778899″ “abcdefg,”
Letters on your keyboard that sit next to each other are also a mistake. For example, qwertqwert. These are very weak passwords.
Avoid using look-alike substitutions of numbers and symbols. This means that you don’t replace an ‘i’ with a ‘1′ or an ‘a’ with ‘@’ as in “M1cr0$0ft” or “P@ssw0rd. These are too easy to guess.
However, these substitutions can be effective when combined with other measures, such as length, misspellings, or variations in upper and lowercase, to improve the strength of your password.
Avoid your login name.
Don’t use any part of your name, birthday, social security number.
Avoid words from the dictionary.
Tools can guess passwords based on words in multiple dictionaries, including words spelled backwards, common misspellings, and substitutions.
Use password combinations. If any one of the computers or websites using your password is compromised, then all of your other information protected by that password will be compromised as well. Use different passwords for different systems.
Don’t store your password online.

I know this sounds obvious but, if others find your passwords stored online (or on a networked computer), they have access to all your information.

How to create strong passwords:

Passwords should be 8 or more characters in length; 14 characters or more is ideal.
Strongest passwords combine both length and different types of symbols.
Long passwords are stronger than short ones.
The more characters you add to your password, the more you increase its level of protection.
Use symbols by holding down the ‘Shift’ key and typing a number are very useful in developing strong passwords.
Choose symbols unique to your language.
Use the space bar in passwords.
Combine letters, numbers, and symbols.
The greater the combination you use in your password, the harder it is to guess.

Remember to change your passwords on a regular basic, for example, every six weeks. If you’re planning on opening a PayPal or Ebay account to buy and sell goods online, then I think you should read this. There’s no point making all this money, if someone can walk in a run off with your profits.

What do you think? How do you create strong passwords?

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Is XMLSpy the Best XML Editor for Technical Writers?

Ivan Walsh — Sun, 23 May 2010 05:42:00 +0000

Post by Ivan Walsh. Follow me on Twitter.

What’s the best XML Editor on the market? I’ve used several but tend to stick with Altova XMLSpy for editing XML code and Notepad++ as my standard text editor. Neither is perfect and have their little glitches. I’ve taken some screenshot to show what XMLSpy looks like.

Altova XMLSpy in a Nutshell

An XML editor with support for working with all XML-based technologies. Used for modeling, editing, transforming, and debugging XML-related technologies

Key features:

XML Schema and DTD-based XML validation
Multi-tabbed validation window for searching over multiple files
Context-sensitive entry helpers
Built-in XML document templates
XPath auto-completion
XSLT / XQuery debuggers and profilers
Database integration
XBRL support
Support for OOXML in Microsoft Office 2007 and higher

XMLSpy Screenshots

XMLSpy User Interface

Schema Settings

Annotation

Run Java Macros

Generate output to PDF

You can also develop in a text view or graphical view, or switch back and forth between the two.

It does the job for me. What XML Editor do you use?

PS: The Official XMLSPY Handbook is here

About the Author: Ivan Walsh is a 40 something technical writer with a weakness for documentation plan guides. His other obsession is video blogging at http://www.videocameraschool.com/

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17 Ways to Write, Respond, and Process 85 Emails a Day

Ivan Walsh — Thu, 20 May 2010 14:50:00 +0000

Lost time is lost money. If you run your own company, every minute counts. And, it’s no different if you work for someone else. Lost time = lost money. Email is great for generating business but when it takes over your day, then it becomes a problem.

Help me answer every email in the same biz day!’ I got this from a good friend a while back and this is what I wrote back to her.

17 Ways to Write, Respond, and Process 85 Emails a Day

‘I get approx 85 emails a day. 120 is high. 50 low. I run 7 sites. Most of my customers are in the US but I have others in the UK, across Europe and in Australia. So, emails are always coming in.

Here’s what I do:

1. Don’t Park – I try to push each email to completion; that means no ‘parking’. Once I open it, I see if I can finish it then and there. I don’t want to see it a second time. Hat tip to Tim Ferris.

2. Guilt — Don’t feel guilty about writing short, accurate emails as long as you address the key points. Just because you get a 500 word email, doesn’t mean you need to write 500 words back! You don’t have to reply like for like. Knowing this made a huge difference as I felt free to write one line emails that answered the question and then moved on.

3. Word count – Aim to reduce your word count. Say it in one word, not three. Write use, not utilize. Move, not migrate.

4. Deadwood — Drop non-words such as actually, as a matter of fact, in the event of, due to the fact that, and other fillers. Also, remove oxymorons such as pre-meeting (meeting is fine).

5. Consolidate — I’ve closed down my Hotmail account and moved other accounts into one master Gmail account. Less time lost logging in and out. And more secure too. Here’s how to read your Gmail emails offline.

6. Touch Type — I learnt to touch type as a teenager (and do shorthand) so I can type fairly quickly. This helps me run thru emails that bit faster.

7. Microsoft Word — I write longer emails in Word, use the built-in features such as auto-completion, auto-correct and then paste into the email client. It’s so much faster. Word is great when you learn how it really works.

8. Delete Folders — I rarely use them. I don’t store emails for a rainy day. I used too until my account got deleted by accident. Most of what I had ‘collected’ was of zero use. If it’s that valuable, store it somewhere safe.

The more you have, the more you have to manage.

9. Train Customers — I ‘train’ my staff and customers to answer emails the right way. I know that may sound extreme but very few of us have been trained (really trained!) to communicate. It’s not their fault. And no one has shown them how to do it better.

Enter Ivan!

Here’s an example:

Instead of asking

“Will it be ready?”, (an open ended question)

I write:

‘Can you confirm it will be ready by Friday?’ (I’m looking for a specific date, time, or confirmation)

In other words, I’m training them to give me the information I need to push the task to completion. My goal is to get to completion as soon as possible.

10. Subject Line — I use the subject line in the email to ask, confirm or agree with the email’s request. Others have now got into the habit. Many staff ask/respond to emails in the subject line only. Really speeds things up.

11. Help the Reader — Don’t group several ideas/questions in the same paragraph. People read in a hurry. Help the reader reply to your email by:

Pulling out the key points,
Use bold when necessary, and
Red if it’s really critical.
Don’t go over-board but a single bolded in red will get the reader’s attention.

12. Use Bullets – for longer emails, I bullet point and/or number the key points. This makes it easier for the reader to see what I need answered.

‘Let’s see, Ivan has these five questions. I’ll start at the top and work my way down.’

13. Ignore FYIs – I rarely respond to or read FYIs. Most is information pollution and people covering their… Status Reports are fine; that’s where the relevant information should be. Also, if you ignore FYIs, and don’t respond, they stop sending them.

14. Meetings with Me Only — I book meeting rooms just for me. Then I spend an hour in there ‘processing’ emails. I really try not to check email when doing this (I’m human after all) but to process things and get them to the next step.

15. Good Surfing Habits — This is more to do with time-saving. I don’t surf the web without an aim (well, almost. Those ninja cats can be real fun). Instead, I use Google Reader, which pulls in (and shares) my fav sites, so I don’t have to go hunting them down. It also shows if/where there is a new article. And, I’ve setup folder/topics and read the most important sites first.

16. Team Effort — I also try to get the team into the same mindset. The best way to get them onside is to show them how this saves time and makes their life easier.

17. Use the Phone — finally, be creative. You don’t have to use email all the time. If it’s quicker pick up the phone or print it out and walk over to your colleague. It’s a nice way to network, look busy and get some light exercise.

One book I found really helpful is Alan Lakein’s ‘How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life’. He wrote this in the 70s – before email – but his approach is very helpful. It’s a small little book but worth the read.”

How do you manage?

Out of curiosity, how many emails do you get every day?

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