It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! It’s Your Tech Comm Team!

Maybe they aren’t faster than a speeding bullet (although that would be nice) or more powerful than a locomotive. Maybe they can’t burst into flames, turn invisible, walk through walls, fly, or read your mind (that would be nice, too). But that doesn’t mean that your technical communications team can’t save the day.

As a business, you have a product or service to offer, and to let the world know how, when, where, and why to use it, you need an expert technical communications team.

“I work alone.”
Wolverine was cool, but without the X-Men, he could never have accomplished the things he did.

A team is made up of individuals, so it stands to reason that an effective team is made up of effective individuals. The Justice League needed the best of the best. They needed members who were able to fly, live under water, wield a golden lasso, or run faster than the speed of light. You need the best of the best, too—a tech comm team that can write, design, edit, and work together to accomplish every project you send its way.

In developing documentation, writers and designers need to gather information, identify project requirements, become familiar with the subject, and most importantly write and design effectively. Editors need to be grammar, syntax, and style guides experts as well as observant, careful, and patient in order to improve writing for publication.

A talented, dedicated, and experienced staff of writers, designers, editors is essential to the success of all documentation projects.

“Set phasers to stun.”
Okay, so Captain Kirk and Spock weren’t superheroes, but what would they have been without their weapons? (Plus, the phrase was catchy.)

An effective tech comm team needs to be familiar with leading technology in the communications field. Companies develop new software daily that simplify processes from designing an illustration to creating a rapid eLearning environment.

Thirty years ago, the latest and greatest asset to technical communications was a copying machine that allowed an instructional designer to draw an illustration on paper, tape it to the document, and then copy it to produce a completed page. What then took half of a day’s work to accomplish now takes minutes with software like Adobe Illustrator and InDesign.

Tired of sitting in the conference room of yore and listening to a long-winded instructor explain your new training policies and procedures? Imagine sitting at a computer viewing an interactive learning environment with audio, visual, video, and assessment features allowing you to control the pace! If your tech comm team is familiar with Articulate Rapid eLearning Studio or similar software, then such a scenario could be a reality.

Using the up-to-date, industry-leading software can make all the difference in efficiency and presentation quality.

“With great power comes great responsibility.”
Peter Parker had to learn this lesson the hard way, but the writers, editors, and designers on your payroll should know this from the start.

Once research and development are through, the tech comm team is in control of your project. It is their responsibility not only to meet deadlines and budgets, but to ensure that they meet every objective to produce a product you will be proud of. While the writers are busy writing, the designers are busy designing, and editors are busy editing, who has time to coordinate all the details of project cohesion?

Projects need managers. Someone needs to oversee all areas of documentation development in order to meet every objective. Because managers are accountable for what they oversee, they push their teams to go beyond the status quo, creating products that clients can be proud of.

If you do not have a documentation department on site, there are companies who have super technical communications teams, ready and willing to save the day for your project.

Written by: Johnathan Cunningham, ProEdit


Need help with a project?  Contact ProEdit for a free quote or give us a call at 1-888-776-3348.

Consider eLearning

One of the latest trends grabbing headlines is eLearning. But is it all just hype? Hype without substances ends up in wasted time and resources. In this economy, that kind of mistake can be fatal. Is eLearning all that it is cracked up to be? Could it work for you? Is there substance behind the hype?

These are common questions, so here’s some information to help you decide if eLearning is the right choice for you.

Cost

Making the switch from instructor-led training (ILT) to eLearning really can cut your costs. For one thing, eLearning cuts the time needed for people to go through the data in half. But there are other cost savings, too—travel, facilities, breaks, fees, and printouts. For those of you who like the details and numbers, you can click here to peruse the nuts and bolts of eLearning.

Flexibility

Flexibility is a huge advantage of the eLearning environment. Anywhere, anytime is hard to beat! Of course, eLearning is confined to the limitations of your LMS and Web access, but the options are expounded. Your people can choose times that are convenient for them. This cuts down on juggling and rearranging of meetings and schedules. With modules that can be broken down into bite-sized chunks of information, the training easily slides into the free spaces of their day. Also, entire days out of the office aren’t needed. This makes your customers very happy.

Control of Content

Not that you have to be a control freak, but it is helpful when everyone is on the same page. With ILT, sometimes different points are highlighted and others fade to the background. With standardized modules, everyone gets the same message.

You also have the freedom to target a specific group. Let’s say IT needs more data points. Your HR people would be off counting ceiling tiles if this topic were covered in an all-encompassing meeting. With modules geared to specific groups, people get what they need without the non-essentials.

Greater Retention

Not everyone is an auditory learner. And for these people, sitting through a lecture can be very painful. But give them videos and interactive media, and they’ll pick things up very quickly. One of the great things about eLearning is you can target different learning styles. Each group will spend time in the arena that appeals to them. Users can also move at their own pace. And because technology doesn’t care how often you press “rewind” and “play,” it is easy to go back and review as needed. This is especially helpful for complicated processes or new information. Quizzes and interactive data also help to assimilate the data.

Ease of Use

More and more programs are making it easier and less expensive to create top-notch training modules. One program ProEdit uses is Articulate Studio. With programs like this, a talented instructional designer can create effects that keep the content engaging and interactive. Updates and changes are also easily managed. This keeps your people up to speed and better equipped to handle the changes.
 
Think eLearning is just sitting in front of a computer listening to lectures?  Not at all!  It is so much more…well, entertaining.  And engaged people learn.  When you consider the cost savings and other advantages, it just makes sense.

Receive a free price quote on your instructional design needs, or give us a call at 1-888-776-3348 to discuss your project.

Is Ben Franklin to blame?

Did you know that 259 years ago (in 1752, do the math) Benjamin Franklin allegedly created all your issues with gadgets and gizmos? If the legend holds true, when he flew that famous kite and got the shock of his life, his discovery of electricity started the ball rolling for all the electronic doodads and addictions that plague us today and make our digital communication so difficult and important. So the next time you want to smack your iPhone around for autocorrecting your texts or throw your laptop out the window when spell check fails you yet again, just take a calming breath and whisper curses at Poor Richard and all that he hath wrought upon us. (And tell him you still haven’t forgiven him for wanting to make the turkey our national bird.)

Written by: Sean Taylor, ProEdit

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The Style Guide: Not Just a Rule Book

Information Developer: “Do you have a preferred style?”

Client: “What do you mean ‘style’?”

… the confusion begins.

Information Developer: “You know, AP, Chicago, Microsoft—is there a house style you prefer?”

Client: “What’s that?”

… and so it goes.

Meet Your New Best Friend,The Style Guide
Remember the song “Do Re Mi?” from the movie The Sound of Music? It gave the best advice ever: “Start at the very beginning, a very good place to start.” So let’s do just that.

Forget the days of high school and college term papers and having points deducted from your grade because you put a comma in the wrong place. A style guide is so much more than the literary equivalent of a ruler on the back of your hand. It is a road map for establishing your voice and identity in written communication. It is the tool that helps you make your best first impression. 

Basically, a style guide (also often called a manual or a style book) is a list of principles of punctuation, grammar, word and phrase usage, layout considerations, spelling, and more. But it’s not just a dictionary or grammar book. It’s more a way of collecting both of those helpful pieces into one book and then adding anything else you may need to know in order to make your copy the best it can be.

There are hundreds of style guides available, ranging from those that are industry-specific to those geared more toward academia. Each style guide has its own feel and purpose, no matter how many rules they may have in common. For just a peek at what’s out there, take a look at this list archived online at the Duke library.

In case that feels a little overwhelming, don’t worry.

A Matter of Purpose

Even with so many guides available, chances are you will need to focus your attention on three primary manuals: The Associated Press Stylebook, The Chicago Manual of Style, and the Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publications.

The Associated Press Stylebook is the go-to resource for newspapers and magazines. It not only covers the proper grammar and usage, but also includes sections on legal issues (such as libel, fair use, copyright infringement), social media, sports and business reporting, and media law. If you need to know how to reference a foreign dignitary or format baseball scores in running copy, then this is the book you need.

The Chicago Manual of Style is a general, in-depth guide that gives detailed analysis and examples for an almost complete list of grammar and usage topics. Whether you’re working with conversational or formal copy, the Chicago manual is a valuable resource for writers in various industries, from marketing to academia. Think of it as a Strunk & White after a year of hitting the gym to get ripped.

The Microsoft Manual of Style forTechnical Publications is one of the key guides for writing in our new technology-driven world. Are you sending e-mail, email, or E-mail? Did you surf the Web, the web, or just the Internet? What does WYSIWYG mean anyway? The Microsoft Manual not only takes the confusion out of technology words and usage, it covers standards for online communication, Web-related references, writing and tagging Web content, and much more.

In addition to these handy references, your company or client may have a style guide of its own. They often borrow from one of these (or other) guides, then add common phrases, spellings and usages that are specific to their own segment of the market. For example, does a client’s name end with Inc., or is Incorporated always spelled out? Does a manufacturer’s major product end with the name or does it require the trademark symbol too? Is a not-for-profit company’s key supporter ADCO, Adco or AdCo? While these might seem like minor issues, they are actually important considerations for a company aiming for a consistent look and feel.

The Benefits of Style

Regardless of your preferred style, using a style guide puts you at the head of the class. Here are just a few reasons why:

1. It helps maintain consistent usage, no matter who is creating a document.
2. It establishes a standard for “correct” usage, rather than confusing the issue with “but I’ve always seen it this way” arguments.
3. It eliminates the repetition of such questions as “Is it Web site or website?” each time you create a new document.
4. It can be easily updated to accommodate necessary changes and redistributed.
5. It facilitates training of employees by covering a broad range of grammar, spelling, and usage rules without the expense of in-service classes.
6. It serves as a reference when clients and/or managers question changes in their documents.

The Fairy-tale Ending?

Information Developer: “Do you have a preferred style?”

Client: “Absolutely. I’ll send you a copy of it. And for anything not listed there, we default to Chicago.”

… and thus the confusion ends.

… and so it could go.

Written by: Sean Taylor, ProEdit

If you don’t currently have a working style guide and would like help developing one, contact ProEdit.

Managing a Successful Brand: The Importence of Producing Error-Free Content

Did you notice the spelling mistake in the title of this piece? Chances are you did. In fact, it probably sprang from the page almost immediately. These types of editorial errors play a big role in how your company is perceived. From the first page to the last, error-free content is of the utmost importance. Communications documents, whether internal or external, that are riddled with spelling, grammar, or formatting errors can pose a potential threat to the future of your company! When these types of errors continuously pop up in your content, you can be sure that your clients or potential clients are making negative judgments about your company, employees, and services. These kinds of perceptions, however harmless they may seem, can hurt the top-notch brand you worked so hard to create.

Negative Judgment #1: Your Company is Unprofessional
You know that your company is professional. You’ve worked hard to develop an image that your company’s services are at the top of your field. Content that has a lot of errors is a red flag that your company is not carefully and thoroughly reviewing materials for publication. This can indicate a level of unprofessionalism, since the way you present your company to the world should be high on your list of priorities for creating and managing a positive brand. If you can’t take the time to ensure that your own products are perfect, how can potential clients know you won’t do the same to them?

Negative Judgment #2: Your Employees are Not Skilled
Of course you employ only the best in your field. But even skilled writers and editors make spelling and grammar errors in initial drafts. Tight deadlines make people work faster, which means the important quality assurance phase of document production is often foregone to deliver the product on time. Producing error-free content is as simple as carefully reviewing any material you’ve written. Enlist the help of a colleague or two to give the document additional pairs of eyes and make sure to use the “Spell Check” function in your word processor.

Negative Judgment #3: Your Services and Deliverables are Low-Quality
Imagine opening an issue of Time magazine and finding multiple editorial errors on the first page. You turn to the next page, which is just as plagued by spelling and grammar mistakes. Regardless of what the article is actually saying, it’s hard to really trust content that doesn’t follow the basic rules of spelling and grammar. It’s like the old saying, “It’s not what you say; it’s how you say it.” Readers get distracted by mistakes on the page, and no matter how profound what you’re trying to say is, they will determine that your services are low-quality.

Everyone makes mistakes in their writing; it’s a natural part of the drafting process. However, you have to be ready to give your final product that finishing polish before presenting it to the public. No matter how small you think the errors may be, these kinds of mistakes speak volumes to your contacts. Protect your brand by making sure you are producing only the highest quality material!

Are writing and editing just not your company’s strong point? Contracting with a writing and editing service like ProEdit can help improve your content at a low cost and with a fast turnaround.

Learn more about ProEdit's services or request a quote. 

I've Got that Yearning for eLearning

With gas at $4+ per gallon, commuting to school and work is becoming a burden.  But you have to do it.  Or so you think. What if you could wake up in the morning, drink a cup of coffee, and learn all of your company’s new policies and procedures while never changing out of your Lone Ranger footy pajamas?  What if you could go home from work and simply turn on the computer rather than fight another round of traffic to get to a college campus?

You can, thanks to the development of eLearning – the most innovative tool in education.  With the software available today, you can create interactive user manuals, seminars, and classroom simulations.

New Learning Experiences

The goal of eLearning software is to simulate a physical learning experience through the use of images, video, audio, and interactive tools and assessments through an electronic course.  A typical eLearning experience might consist of a slideshow of written information paired with pictures and video.  While reading and viewing the information, you hear the sound of narration synced to the slideshow.  The narrator enlightens you to ideas that are not expressed in the writing and expounds upon existing text and images.  Sounds like last week’s seminar, right?  Not quite. 

What makes eLearning so unique is that it offers a hands-on approach to learning experiences.  As you click through a course, you can discover embedded windows that contain additional information that is specific to the subject you are studying.

Imagine you are learning how to repair a washing machine.  You see the washing machine as a whole, but you need to know what the timing unit looks like.  You click on a button over the timing unit, and a secondary window pops up with a detailed image of the timing unit complete with a definition and other vital information.  The designer might even include a video of a technician explaining the wiring of a timing unit in the secondary window—all without leaving the page.

Simplified Evaluation Processes  

One of the greatest features of eLearning is the ability to assess users’ comprehension.  When creating an eLearning course, the designer can include a variety of interactive assessments.  When users complete an assessment, they can view their own scores, but if a designer includes the course in a Learning Management System (LMS), then administrators or instructors can also view users’ scores. 

An LMS can contain entire curricula for universities, seminars, and tutorials for businesses, or even user manuals for individual distributors.  The days of distance restraints keeping students from learning or businesses from reaching customers are over!

Cost-Effective Solutions

Typical seminars and workshops can be costly and time-consuming.  First, you have to hire an expert. Then, you have to cut production time in order to bring everyone together so you don’t have to pay the expert for multiple sessions.  Not only does that decrease efficiency, but that missed time has to be made up somewhere. And if you were to conduct a comprehension assessment, you would have to pay extra for supplies and the added time.

Why not skip all the hassle and implement eLearning solutions instead?  It’s efficient, affordable, and most importantly, effective. 

Written by: Johnathan Cunningham, ProEdit

Contact us and let ProEdit's experts help implement an eLearning solution for your company.