What others think we do - why it matters and how to set them straight
- 1. What others think we do - why it matters and how to set them straight Charlotte Claussen @cphcharli @tcworldindia
- 2. Illustration credit: Mike Laundry, https://idratherbewriting.com/2012/03/02/technical-communication-metrics-what-should-you-track/
- 3. Soo what do you do? Illustration credit: Jesper Berg, https://www.flickr.com/photos/47400163@N05/9556547969/in/album-72157635164667370/
- 4. Questions to Bing and Google about technical writing Source: https://answerthepublic.com/
- 6. Heard from managers and colleagues Dont worry about accuracy. Just clean it up and make it look pretty. I can probably write better than you, but I dont have time. Why do you need a use case? What youre doing is techie writing. Thats something with PDFs. You dont need to know that! The problem with you is that you want to understand what youre writing about.
- 7. Dont care what others think! Illustration credit: Matt Brown, https://www.flickr.com/photos/londonmatt/15850166839/
- 8. Dont care what others think!Dont care what others think! Illustration credit: Matt Brown, https://www.flickr.com/photos/londonmatt/15850166839/
- 9. You are only as good as your team!
- 10. Why you should care If others think youre a typist theyll never invite you when discussing features, or give you the information you need. If others think your job is easy and quick, youll never be given the time you need, or extra headcounts for your team. If people think you only have to write simple documents, you wont be get budget for advanced authoring tools. If others misunderstand your role, you will end up doing irrelevant work.
- 11. Do you want to cope?
- 12. Some mistakes I have made Thinking that it didnt matter what others think Expecting too much from others Not knowing the cultural codes Not asserting myself as a specialist Thinking were all working towards the same goal Forgetting that understanding and prioritizing arent the same thing Following advice that didnt suit me
- 13. What you think you (should) do What is the main purpose of your work? What are the required tasks? What are your deliverables? What resources do you need? What do you need from others?
- 14. What you really do Do you perform tasks that are not supporting your main purpose? Are you doing other peoples work? Are you you affected by lack of resources?
- 15. What others think you do What do others think your purpose is? What tasks do others think you should do? How important do they think your work is? How do they feel that your work relates to theirs?
- 16. Communicating to your managers and colleagues is not the same as communicating to users!
- 17. The key is audience analysis the intention is different Users Want or need to use your product Want to be successful using the product Others at work Want or need to work with you Want to be successful Have success criteria that may not align with yours May misunderstand your role May not know what you need or why
- 18. How to know what they think Ask Give them a questionnaire Ask about something else and note the replies Note what they say in concrete situations Note who they listen to
- 19. Create your game plan Which changes would improve your work the most? Which changes are more easy to make?
- 20. Is it realistic? stration credit: Karen Mardahl, https://www.flickr.com/photos/kmardahl/3030615568/in/album-72157609070915090/
- 21. Takeaways Do care what others think. It affects your own work. Use different methods to find out what they think. Be authentic. Build on your strengths. Know your weaknesses. Improve on relevant areas. Think about what you can gain by changing others perception. Be realistic when you create your game plan. Be kind
- 22. Please keep in touch Charlotte Branth Claussen @cphcharli https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlottebclaussen/