Good or Bad?

As I look back over the past ten weeks of my technical writing class, I really have mixed emotions. I would love to tell you that it has been nothing but fun and excitement, but that would not be true. On the other hand, I can honestly say that I have enjoyed parts of it.

Although the class hasn’t really changed my view of writing as a whole, I can honestly say that I have really learned a lot and have been pushed out of my comfort zone at times. Before this class I had never heard of the term “technical writing”. I can assure you that I was not excited to see it on my degree plan. However, it has actually been very informative and I have learned things like how to blog (although still not my favorite thing in the world), how to create an ePortfolio, and how to create graphs and charts. Simultaneously, I have been able to elevate some of the writing skills that I came into the class with.

I believe many of the things I have learned in this class will really help me out in my career. I know that technical writing isn’t going away and is likely to become more prevalent in the workplace of the future. I am glad I decided to take this class and really see the value.

Public Speaking?

How do you feel about public speaking?  I would venture to guess that most people aren’t crazy about speaking in public. While I will admit that public speaking opportunities have never been something that I have sought out, I really don’t mind public speaking.

As I have advanced in my career, I have had to get more comfortable with public speaking.  As a Training Captain, I routinely teach classes and have to not only speak in front of audiences, I have to speak in front of firemen.  I have spoken in front of community leaders and business executives, but there is nothing as intimidating as teaching a room full of firemen. Firemen are naturally outspoken and honest.  By our very nature, we are inquisitive and not only want to know how to do something, but why we have to do it that way and want to know if there are alternate ways of doing it. It’s similar to being in front of a jury of your peers. Even though I have known most of them for many years, you can rest assured that they will not cut me any slack if I try to “wing it” or “pull the wool over their eyes”.

It might sound weird, but I really enjoy it.  I feel that it makes me better as I have to ensure that I am well prepared and know the information inside and out. I figure that if i can speak to a room full of firemen, I can speak in front of anyone.

Too Much Creativity?

Does creativity fit into technical writing? Before I give my opinion on this matter, I would like to reflect on what technical writing really is.

Technical writing is not all about punctuation or grammar (although that is part of any writing). Technical writing is more about the ability to use common communication avenues commonly used in today’s workplace. This covers everything from emails to ePortfolios and many things in between.

I think creativity not only fits in to technical writing, but really enhances it.  In order to represent yourself well, you must have at least a little creativity. Communication is not only what you say, but how you say it. You can have a great message, but if the message is conveyed poorly, it will surely not have the same effect.

Can too much creativity in technical writing be a bad thing? While I don’t think too much creativity itself is a bad thing, the over utilization of that creativity in a professional setting can be detrimental. I think most would appreciate some creativity in technical writing.  However, the level of creativity has to be very carefully balanced so that the essence of the message is not lost. As with most anything else, the key is balance. Think of creativity like spices.  Too little, the food is bland.  Too much, and the food is inedible.

Charts and Graphs?

I have learned many things in my Technical Writing class, but one thing seems to be particularly useful. The thing that I find myself using the most in my professional career is being able to create professional charts and graphs.  Although it may not seem particularly interesting, learning how to take information and represent it in a visual form has actually been cool.

I have often seen the charts and graphs, but I never knew how to do them.  With a little help (OK, a lot) from you tube, I am now able to make what would ordinarily be a bunch of number on a page look neat and organized. If you review some of the tutorial videos on the internet, they will show you a very simple way to create whatever type of chart or graph you need.

 Do any of you routinely use charts and graphs in your presentations? If so, did you learn from a class or an online resource?

I have to admit that It has been quite a while since I have been in school (25 years) and I am enamored by the plethora of websites (commonly referred to as writing tools) that are available to help a writer out these days.

As a very novice writer, I have had the “opportunity” to use a pretty wide variety of the websites and I’ll tell you about my two favorites.

Coming in at the top of my list is www.bibme.com. I love this website because I can never remember how to properly cite in MLA format.  With just a few clicks of the mouse, the website provides me with the proper citation every time.

My next favorite is a website owl.purdue.edu. This cite has much more to do with the actual learning process than just a “shortcut website”. On this website, you can learn as much or as little as you want about writing. They seem to have it all covered. Lessons on grammar, spelling, formatting, and punctuation are all right here at my fingertips.

As a new (old) student, I am very thankful for websites (writing tools) like these. What writing tools do you use and what do you use them for?

Job Postings?

Thankfully, I have worked for the same organization for the last twenty years and have been able to advance inside the organization and not had to hunt for a new job. However, I was given an assignment to explore at least one and review it.

After typing in the search on the google website, I was amazed to see how many websites there are out there.  I ended up selecting the website monster.com and was instantly impressed when the site loaded.

The first thing I noticed was the large search bar in the middle of the screen. I like the fact that I didn’t have to hunt for what I wanted.  After typing in Fire Chief as the job title, about fifty positions pulled up. Once again, I was impressed by the ease of use on this page also.  All of the listings were organized on the left side of the page and a short description was well presented in the middle of the page. With just a single click on any one of the listings brought up all of the pertinent information about the job posting, including a button to allow me to apply online. Long gone are the days of having to search for jobs in the classified sections of the morning newspaper. After playing around in the site for a minute or two, I noticed a “button” that would allow me to set up alerts when a job posting that met my criteria was posted.

All in all, I was very impressed with this job site.  Have you ever used a site like this and have you been successful in finding a job?

"Constructive" Criticism?

I define constructive criticism in the workplace as criticism designed to legitimately help someone.  The key word here is “help”.

I love receiving constructive criticism in the workplace, but I’m pretty slow to give constructive criticism in the workplace. When I say I love it, I mean I love it from some people.  I tend to be really reluctant to take criticism if I know it is not meant to help, but to ridicule. I also tend to take criticism better from those I respect than those I don’t respect. I have very little tolerance for criticism if I think it is mean spirited or from someone who is completely inept.

When it comes to dishing out constructive criticism in the workplace, I’m not as comfortable.  I tend to only give constructive criticism if I’m asked to do so.  Furthermore, I will typically only give constructive criticism to those with whom I have some sort of relationship. It just doesn’t seem right to go around criticizing everything everyone does. At that point, you are just a “know it all” who likes to tell people they are doing something wrong.

I believe constructive criticism in the workplace can be a very valuable thing when done correctly and with the right intentions. What do you think?