I started to comment on Patty Blount’s post, Kevlar Vests for Tech Writers?, but as sometimes happens, I was waxing verbose and decided to respond in my own post.

Patty asks, “Why are we, as tech writers, so maligned? How can we get development teams to appreciate us more?” I’m going address the “maligned” part more than the “appreciate” part; I think they are two separate discussions. (I may pursue the second issue later.) I’m sure there are many answers to the question as to why project team members may avoid tech writers or develop a negative opinion of us. Much of it probably has to do with how we interact with them.

A few suggestions here, all regarding good people skills.

Respect Others’ Time

First, since much of technical writers do is gather information from other people, be respectful of their time. Don’t ask for a minute unless you literally want 60 seconds of their time or less. If I have what I think is a brief question requiring a brief answer, I ask, “Hey Dan, do you have a few minutes to answer a question, or should I come back later?” They’ll usually be honest about whether they need to finish something first or if they can give me their full attention right then.

Be a Little More Than a Coworker

Second, try to interact with others more than just asking them for information. If you’re early to a meeting, strike up a conversation with a developer about his family or the vacation he just had. That way, you’re seen as a real person and not as just a hound that’s always after something. But remember to be genuine and not seen as exercising that social technique you just read about on someone’s blog.

Relax

Do you think tech writers are viewed as uptight? Do we complain too much?

Do you like talking to uptight, complaining people?

We can take ourselves too seriously sometimes. Of course documentation and user assistance are important, but they’re not the most important thing. Products aren’t created so that there’s something for technical writers to document.

When a developer forgets to tell you about a last-minute change to the UI, take a deep breath. He probably didn’t do it to get on your nerves. Can you imagine a developer saying to himself, “That tech writer bugs me so much, I’ll show him. I’m going to change the order of links in this menu so I screw up all his screenshots. He’ll have to bust his hump to get his changes in by the deadline tonight. *snicker*”

If you can picture this, it’s probably because you have an imagination. But it’s pretty ridiculous. Project teams don’t set out to make the tech writer’s life harder (at least not in my experience, and if you have truly found that developers do this, I’d start looking for another place to work). If you act like they’re doing this, their opinion of you won’t improve. So relax a little and look for ways around the problems you encounter. Don’t play the victim. People usually don’t like the one who always blames others for the pickle she’s in.

Wrap-up

A lot of getting team members to like us isn’t any different than getting anyone else to like us. Just like dogs and cats can coexist peacefully, developers or designers don’t have a natural enmity for technical communicators. You don’t need a T-shirt that says, “Don’t hate me because I’m a technical writer.”

By respecting others’ time, taking a personal interest in them, just plain not taking yourself too seriously, and exercising other good people skills, you’ll probably be more liked on your project team. And you can leave that kevlar vest at home—as well as that “Don’t hate me” shirt.

Related entries (auto-generated):

Release Scrums: An Important Resource for the Agile Technical Writer

Daydreamer to Tech Writer and Back Again

The Technical Writer Lens

The Importance of Communication Skills over Technical Skills

Minson’s Theorem of Perceived Value