By Gail Zack Anderson on January 2, 2013
How far have you come on this journey? Are you “there” yet? Sometimes it is hard to see our progress, especially when we are making small changes, changing habits and fine-tuning our existing skills. Maybe it would be helpful for you to go back and see where you were when you started. Were you really […]
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By Theresa Pojuner on December 21, 2012
Part of a Technical Writers job is to create test plans and to communicate it to the Quality Assurance Team. The Technical Writer will be responsible for the standard test plan (see previous posts) for user acceptance testing to be performed, maintenance of an organized list of open issues, verification of resolved issues, and continuous […]
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By Theresa Pojuner on December 11, 2012
Definition – Policies and Procedures involve ensuring control over processes, giving directions, setting standards and following them. In other words, maintaining compliance or preserving requirements. The Policies are a set of rules or guidelines that are decided upon by higher-ups. The Procedures are the steps or processes involved in completing a task. Policies and Procedures: […]
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By Gail Zack Anderson on December 3, 2012
W is for Words When we speak our thoughts must be translated and spoken in words, and this is the challenge. What if I forget my words? This worry puts tremendous pressure on us to think about the words, rather than the message or the meaning of the words. When we focus too much on […]
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By Theresa Pojuner on November 27, 2012
How much is too much? How do we know how to present a technical document?- Whether it is written for projects, systems, communication, procedures, applications, prototypes, education, training, user guide, specifications, or updates, etc., how do we know how to design the material for the target audience? There may already be a style guide, but […]
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By Gail Zack Anderson on November 19, 2012
Think back to the advice you received before you delivered your very first presentation. Your supervisor probably said; “There is nothing to it. Just get up there and be yourself.” That was actually pretty good advice, but you might have discounted it because it sounded so obvious, and because it seemed so difficult to be […]
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By Theresa Pojuner on November 12, 2012
Functional Specifications (based on the Requirement Specifications) describe how something works; what the user will see, what the application will offer, what the finished product will present. The Functional Specifications are written for the manager/supervisor, describing how the application works based on the Requirements document. The Functional Specifications (usually created after the Technical Specifications) can […]
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By Gail Zack Anderson on November 5, 2012
In comedy, timing is everything, right? The same thing is true for speaking. In order to express confidence, calm and control, check your timing in the following ways: 1. Extend your eye contact. We often sweep the audience with our eyes, never landing on a person, but always moving past them. Or we lock eyes […]
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By Theresa Pojuner on November 1, 2012
This is the second part of the post ‘Getting To Know Your Technical Writing Department’. We have read what questions need to be asked regarding Projects, Writing, and Collaboration. Now we need to see how documents are reviewed, stored, what tools are used to produce the documentation, how the works are distributed and how we […]
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By Gail Zack Anderson on October 24, 2012
We have been discussing using stories in your presentations.Part One discussed the compelling reasons for using stories in business speaking. Part Two provided important Do’s for storytelling. Today we examine a few pertinent tips for better storytelling, and a few Don’ts you will want to be aware of. Tips for Better Storytelling: Think of structure. […]
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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.
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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.
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