The Importance of Interviewing Skills for Technical Writers

One of the recommended readings for this week was an article by Madelyn Flammia titled The Challenge of Getting Technical Experts to Talk: Why Interviewing Skills Are Crucial to the Technical Communication Curriculum. Reading this paper gave me many insights into this area.

Firstly, I was struck by how the points Flammia made throughout the piece started to tie what we've been learning in various modules of the MA programme together. While this reading was part of a class with a specific interviewing assignment as one of its' components, it was also highly relevant to the work we were required to do for our project proposals in terms of interviewing subject matter experts.

The emphasis the work places on developing the skill of being able to ask the right questions can also be related to our learning artefact assignment. In this project, we've will be working on a complex topic which few, if any, of the class have prior knowledge. We are required to produce an e-learning resource which can clearly explain this topic. An expert in the area is on hand to provide answers to any questions we have on the material, and so it will be essential for us to be able to formulate the right questions so that we can increase our understanding of the subject before creating the deliverable.

Another facet of the article which I found particularly intriguing was the author's thoughts on how Technical Communicators can demonstrate their value to an organisation. Coming from a programming background as I do, I must admit that, prior to my research into technical writing, I held similar prejudices against writers to those cited in the piece - specifically that they weren't as important as the developers in a company. However, this article highlights the benefits of having Technical Communicators work alongside colleagues in other roles in the company. From the example of a writer whose interview helped programmers find bugs in their programs, to suggesting Technical Communicators help reduce Customer Support calls by making manuals more understandable, I felt this work could change others' perspectives on writers.

Aside from this reading, on the forum, the class have been posting examples of good and bad interviewing techniques. I have found it fascinating to see the wide variety of examples provided. Things that consistently seem to come up as an example of poor interviewing is not giving the interviewee time to answer the question asked, or an interviewer clearing leading their guest with questions laced with bias. It's truly staggering to see the number of professional interviewers who engage in this sort of behaviour. In my opinion, serves to highlight how diligent we as Technical Communicators must be in avoiding these pitfalls.

Indeed, as a closing example from my own experience, I'll admit to being guilty of some of those faux-pas during my time hosting a college radio show. For instance, in this interview, I allowed my personal opinion of RTE influence the direction of one of my questions. I began to suggest that RTE were unsupportive of the Irish comedy scene. This was, in retrospect, highly unprofessional. No doubt studying interviewing techniques as part of the MA will help to improve my skills in this area.

The Summer Project Proposal

It's the beginning of Week 2, and today marks the submission of the proposal document for my intended Master's project. This post will focus on my thoughts about the process of preparing and submitting this document.

Background 

The process began back in December when we suggested our initial title and chose whether we would embark on the dissertation or development route. I chose the development route, with the ultimate aim of having a substantial piece of work for my portfolio when the project is complete. Taking into account my background in software development influenced this decision too. The development route should allow me to draw on my experience more substantially than researching a dissertation likely would have.

Once we'd chosen the route, we needed to choose our topic. Similar to the route, my decision was primarily determined by past influences. During my undergraduate education, I became heavily involved with a student society. My experiences during this time convinced me a problem exists with how those volunteering to run clubs or societies are trained for their roles. Too often, instances occurred where vast amounts of knowledge were lost when experienced members departed without being able to pass on what they had learned to a successor. Further, the supports provided by Clubs and Societies (the umbrella organisation which administers clubs and societies on behalf of the Students' Union) were, in my view, lacking. As a result, my decision to propose a training course to instruct committee members in aspects of running a club or society was a fairly natural one.

The Proposal

With the route and topic chosen, work began on the proposal. The proposal sets out several aspects of the intended course, including:

• A Needs Analysis determining whether the course is necessary.
• A breakdown of the course structure.
• A detailed explanation of the modules, units and lessons that will make up the course.
• Designs for the interface.
• A work schedule. 

The Needs Analysis was a beneficial experience. Part of the analysis involved interviewing Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to get their opinions on the current training situation and feedback on my proposed course. This experience will be invaluable in terms of future career options, be it in the technical writing or E-Learning field. Both fields often require one to interview an SME to obtain information for a project on a topic with which they are unfamiliar. Getting to carry out this process in a practical way was a very positive aspect of the proposal process.

The proposal was also an opportunity to break down the project and examine its' constituent parts in detail. At first, the project brief appeared overwhelming. The task at hand seemed incredibly vast. But through working on the proposal, through planning the lessons and design for the course, and through setting out a work schedule, I feel it helped put the workload into perspective and make it seem much more manageable. Having this material prepared as we now move into the development of our projects will definitely be an asset.

And so, the proposal is now in the process of being reviewed. If it is accepted, work on the project itself will begin in earnest. I do not doubt that working through the proposal process has laid important groundwork which will yield significant benefits during the development cycle.

And to finish on what may be a humorous note, while preparing the work schedule should assist in keeping the project on track, it was rather a surreal feeling to see every day up until the submission date of 30th June blocked off with potential project tasks to work on!