Classes for Technical Writers / Communicators

Any suggestions for what further education pairs well with technical communication?

-- Nicholas

Ask the Right Question

Nicholas has asked the right question -- sort of. I don't think anybody can answer the question for him.

 

A technical communicator translates the Subject Matter Experts' (SME's) geek-speak into plain human-speak. Learning the SME's language will play a pivotal role in success. Even introductory courses in the chosen domain will dramatically shorten the learning curve once he lands a job.

 

The question omits any decision about the domain in which Nicholas will practice. When he chooses a direction, he will be better able to determine the answer for himself.

 

If Nicholas has not chosen a domain, yet, I would suggest that he visit his school's career office and the state employment office and ask, "What industries show growth potential for Technical Writers?" Once he has a list of, say, the top ten fields, he can consider which field(s) would most personally reward him.

After that, he can ask, "What subjects would best help me learn the language of the SME's in that field?"

 

Supporting Skills

An employee does not just sit down and start doing the job. Each job has supporting knowledge areas such as planning work, reporting activities, conducting meetings, and defining and adhering to ethics. A successful employee also looks ahead in the direction that the career and the profession will take. That adds soft skills, management, and industry trends to the list.

 

I will name two of the most important skills Nicholas could add to his quiver.

 

First, the most important SME in anybody's career is the boss. Learning about project management (I suggest PMP Exam Prep by Rita Mulcahey) will help Nicholas:

• Understand how he can support his manager's success
• Learn more about organizing his own work
• Start his climb up the career ladder

The knowledge areas defined by project management standards can also serve as springboards into further studies.

 

Second, the ability to visually model processes and information would help Nicholas in any industry. To that end, he should familiarize himself with the Unified Modeling Language (UML). An Internet search will turn up plenty of tutorials.)

 

UML is not a language (not in my vocabulary, anyway), but rather a set of graphical styles and standards for defining and illustrating relationships between entities and for defining the processes in which entities interact. If Nicholas works in the software field or supports business processes, he will probably need to understand UML, anyway.

 

Basic Life Skills for Success in Any Technical Career

 

People normally associate project management with management and producing products, and they associate UML with software engineering, systems engineering, and business analysis. However, the set of tools these two topics would give Nicholas, and the ways of thinking that they teach, would be invaluable in almost any domain. He can study those areas while thinking about the industry he wants to work in.

 

"Professionals" distinguish themselves by continuously and independently learning. Schools lead students through semi-standardized curricula, but professionals write their own curricula. Nicholas should plan his future studies but bear in mind that:

• he will continuously update that plan, and
• he does not have to do all his studying now.

Meeting Minutes and Other "Menial" Tasks

A.S. asks,

How many [technical writers] record meeting minutes for electronic distribution. In other words, perform duties of a secretary or stenographer? There are places where people view technical writers as slightly more expensive secretaries, in which you're expected to take meeting minutes. In most of my jobs, however, it hasn't been my responsibility nor do I think it should be considered part of the core set of expectations. It becomes a burden and takes away time from my normal writing and editing responsibilities. I'm encountering it more and more in job descriptions.

However the one recurring opinion I have developed from taking meeting minutes is that there are so many people who do not know how to conduct a meeting and manage the time.

I empathize with A.S. regarding the stress of having yet another serving of work laid on your already full plate.

He actually raises two issues:

• Should technical writers' duties include taking minutes?
• What should our attitudes be about unexpected duties?

Taking Minutes

Do not underestimate the challenge and prestige of recording minutes.

Producing useful minutes takes a familiarity with the players, the meeting topic(s), and the history behind the topic(s). Some meetings, such as department meetings, have topics that everybody understands. A summer intern could handle those minutes. However, other meetings, such as a corrective action board or a design review, require backgrounds far above what any secretary or stenographer has.

Stenographers take dictation. That's fine if you want everything said in the record or want someone at a higher level to edit down their transcript. It's similar with secretaries. In a technical or management-level discussion, neither has the expertise to decide what to include, and getting participants to stop and dictate during a meeting is nearly impossible.

Personally, the more content-rich the meeting, the more I struggle with taking minutes. I miss too much information when I stop listening so I can write. (I've never been able to listen and write at the same time.) Fortunately, since too many conflicts arose over what was said, I was allowed to use a recorder in my last job.

• Good: Recordings created objective evidence that settled a few disputes. 
• Better: The presence of objective evidence prevented many disputes. 
• Best: It freed me to focus on comprehending the flow of information presented by the subject matter experts so I could record not just what was said, but what was meant.

Taking minutes creates the wonderful benefit of turning each meeting into a course. Using a recorder, you get to listen to subject matter experts twice. During the second hearing, you already know the context, so discussions make more sense. Not only does the repetition increase retention, but so do the transcription, editing, and reading of the information.

Serving at the core of meetings lets you into the inner circle. You get to know the experts and managers -- and they get to know you -- as you interact to ask for clarification or to gather presentation packages during preparation. (Maintaining a library of those presentations can make you quite a resource, too!)

The learning element has another advantage in that, over time, you become the historian on many subjects. Our vice president constantly looked to his board facilitators (who recorded the minutes) for background on different issues. This not only gave us visibility, it also gave us influence.

Depending on the meeting, producing useful minutes both adds to your value and creates value -- and visibility -- in which you can take pride.

Attitude toward Unexpected Work

For perspective: Many leaders do work that subordinates ought to do. If something inconveniences you, a contributor, it inconveniences leaders even more. Tasks belong at the lowest competent rung of the ladder. As indispensable as you think you are, the time of those paid more than you has even more value.

If the job descriptions includes taking minutes, then it is one of your "normal writing and editing responsibilities." On the other hand, employers do not chisel job descriptions into stone (unless you work for a union). If your supervisor approves the task, then it is one of your "normal writing and editing responsibilities." If that overloads you, pass the responsibility for what does not get done to your supervisor by laying out your goals and tasks and asking him or her to prioritize them.

If my supervisor weren't available and I did no want the task, I would answer the organizer, "I'll be happy to take minutes this time, but next time, could you pass that through [insert your supervisor's name here] so he can adjust my priorities?" This will preserve your image as flexible, cooperative, and supportive while protecting you from future disruptions to your scheduled workload due to poor planning on the meeting organizer's part.

A.S's observation about meeting owners lacking skills for conducting meetings is true. It is also an opportunity. If you have (or can acquire) such skills, you could offer to moderate and facilitate. (By moderate, I mean act as an MC to keep things on track. By facilitate, I mean coordinate preparation and follow-up.) Of course, you need the meeting owner to agree to back you up. Moderating a meeting and taking minutes forms a package that will portray you as a leader and benefit your career.