Last night, Tom Johnson led a meeting of the STC Intermountain Chapter. The format was an informal discussion between chapter members as we took turns talking about what challenges we’re facing right now. I thought it was a very productive evening for those of us who attended. We talked about following that format more often because of the direct impact on what we’re doing professionally and the difficulty of getting speakers for every meeting.

Tom was making a comment at one point, and he said, “I don’t know about anybody else, but I’m a perfectionist.”

Paul Pehrson said, “Isn’t that why we’re in this profession?”

I had thought I was the only one.

Maybe “technical communicator” is synonymous with “perfectionist” after all. I can see the position of quality assurance engineer as enticing to perfectionists, but sometimes things that bother me don’t bother them (consistent capitalization, anyone?). What is it about tech comm that draws perfectionists?

Someone who wants to make sure everything is done right wants proper documentation in place for a project. She understands that an application isn’t complete if the users aren’t educated about how to use it. Documentation and training is seen by some as a detail, but part of perfectionism is attention to detail. Also, while we’re documenting processes and products, we’re always asking “What about this? What happens if…? What happens next?” We tell users the best way, the right way to do things.

So I think Tom and Paul were pretty accurate. Being a perfectionist can be stressful because no matter the current status, it’s not good enough. It feels like we need a support group sometimes. Maybe our STC chapter meetings should start with each person standing up and saying, “Hi, my name is George (or Jack or Flo), and I’m a perfectionist.” And everyone will nod because we all understand George (or Jack or Flo).

We understand that we’re not perfect, but we want the world we live in to be a perfect place. And it can’t be perfect without a few perfectionists writing documentation. Otherwise, how will everyone else know the right way to do things?

Related entries (auto-generated):

“Good Enough” Really Isn’t

My First Five Years as a Professional Communicator

The Technical Communicator as Project Manager

Suggestions for Survival in an Agile Environment as a Technical Communicator

A Team Member with the Heart of a Technical Communicator