The Technical Writer is forever growing in status and popularity. They have now emerged as Content Writers, Managers, Web Content Writers, and Web Managers. But the basic ideals and requirements are still the same. They are knowledgeable in their fields (manufacturing, pharmacy, education, development, business, etc.) and they know how to write – clearly and concisely.
As always, communication is the key in this industry; in writing and in speaking. Flexible technical writers will be part of many projects, take ownership of many projects, and will work in an ever changing industry. But within each one, the writer will have to be able to know how to communicate to their audience, whether it’s on the web, through text, or any other media and be able to create and/or follow company guidelines.
How they generate the information is not easy. Depending on their position, they will either have to write as speakers, sellers, instructors, commentators, or even researchers.
- Writing as a speaker means providing information in a more entertaining way instead of text.
- Writing as a seller means providing attributes of a commodity either through marketing, white papers, blogging, etc.
- Writing as a commentator means providing information adjacent video, images, presentations, etc.
- Writing as a researcher means providing specific data information – being able to organize it properly by tags, references, reports, data structures, etc.
No matter which role is taken, the writer has to have a key understanding of what the audience needs and to tailor it to them. They have to be able to be a good listener, focused, and be able to adjust their writing accordingly. They have to be able to manage their time, their team, and be able to continuously concentrate on the outcome and at the same time be able to work collaboratively across all functions.
The above is a general guideline of the new content writer or manager. They still however possess the same basic skills of a technical writer. The most important key is the enjoyment of writing and learning. Without these two attributes, how can you gain the knowledge you need to succeed?
- Enjoying writing means – being able to translate complex or simple material into an easy to understand language.
- Enjoying leaning means – being able to gain knowledge and to understand client needs, architectural data requirements, business processes, the market, data analysis, etc.
But at the end of this is also the satisfaction of being able to share the information.
What do you think of the new Content/Technical writer? They still function the same, and they both still need to have interpersonal skills in order to relate, work, and understand others within an organization. But most importantly, they still have to produce quality documents within a set time schedule.
Gail Zack Anderson, President of Applause, Inc., has nearly 20 years experience in training and coaching. She
provides individual presentation coaching, and leads effective presentation workshops and effective trainer workshops.
Theresa Pojuner is a Documentation Specialist with over 20 years of writing experience and is skilled in many areas of documentation, for example, Style Guides, Training Manuals and Test Cases, wth a specialty n Technical Writing and Procedures.