In this talk, I'll provide eight essential tips that will help you become a more effective tech writer. These are core principles that have guided me during almost two decades in the business. Here they are, distilled down into a half hour of concentrated fun:
- Just ask. The idea for this talk started during the WTD hike in 2016, when Jacob Moses started asking about my work. Later he asked me to be a guest on his podcast to discuss how to future proof yourself as a tech writer. The idea of being bold and just asking people, as Jacob did, is one of the most important things you can do. I'll share a few of my favorite questions.
- Then, listen with an open heart and mind. Give your full attention. It's hard but it gets easier the more you practice.
- Tell stories. This applies to everything you do. Even your automatic email reply. Pay attention to how you start. Newspaper articles frequently start with an anecdote. When you tell a story, adjust how you begin for the audience, providing a high level clue-in as needed. Storytelling is one of the most important skills you can learn. I'll include resources at the end.
- Own your stuff. One of my former colleagues always had an excuse why he couldn't do something because someone else hadn't come through. As tech writers, sometimes we feel like we are at the end of the chain. A key realization is that you own your docs like a developer owns their code. You make the final decisions. A writer asking "should the docs say x or y" is like a reporter asking "should the story say x or y" Instead, ask for input, own the output.
- Find go-to people. There is a doc-friendly person in every group. If they're willing, have them review your doc first.
- Minimum viable is your friend. Use the "just send me something" gambit, with the caveat that it doesn't have to be perfect. When emailing on a tech review, instead of asking questions about the doc, put the actual text in the mail and iterate on that. Include your default course of action in the event of no reply.
- Always keep learning. Have a preferred super tool for automating stuff. Learn by incremental doing.
- Say yes. Seize the moment when your manager says who wants to do the new task. Cultivate an up for anything mindset. Help others learn and succeed.
A tiny but mighty bonus tip: Give praise. Highest benefit to cost ratio you'll ever see.
This talk is for all documentarians, with a slight skew to those newer to the discipline. Basic writing workflow is the only assumed background knowledge. The takeaway is that the writer is more empowered, effective, and has a more enriching career.
My name is Ted Hudek, and I've been a tech writer at Microsoft for 19 years. I came to WTD for the first time in 2015, where I was amazed to see a roomful of documentarians and even more amazed to hear about open publishing technologies. The year after, partially due to the exposure at WTD, I became one of the pioneers at Microsoft in implementing open publishing. I then came back to WTD in 2016 and told the story on the first WTD panel discussion. Later in 2016, I was a guest on the Not-Boring Tech Writer podcast hosted by Jacob Moses.