Is your Technical Communication career dying? How to revive it

A great article that I’m sure applies to the careers of some technical communicators offers some valuable advice for sagging careers. It starts with asking the following list of signs which might mean that you career is in trouble: You are unhappy with the nature of your work You aren’t growing You feel overshadowed You…

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Building Trust and Credibility for Success

(Excerpt) By Christina At an interview recently I was asked, “How do you build trust?” After thinking about the question for a moment, I answered, Building trust requires that you be honest and transparent. Also, delivering on your promises instills credibility and helps build trust. I think that was a pretty good answer for thinking…

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Time Management and Productivity Tips for Technical Communicators

© 2010 Ugur Akinci Here are my own time-management  and productivity suggestions for technical communicators: If you’re working as an independent technical writer from your own office, check your e-mail only 3 times a day — first thing in the morning, mid-afternoon (3 pm), and in the evening (9 pm). But I realize that for…

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Scheduling and Keeping Up with Your Goals & Clients

You’ve made a New Year’s resolution… You want to write that book… Get that diploma or certificate… Exercise 3 times a week… or whatever it may be. But there’s a slight “problem”… How are you going to keep track of all those promises? Why, with scheduling software of course! Here are some suggestions: Google Calendar.…

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Why Does Persistence Pay? The Mathematical Proof

We’ve all heard it a million times that “persistence pays.” We’ve seen countless examples of people succeeding in something just because they’ve kept trying at it until… SHAZAM! Something gives away, an invisible lever in the sky flips over, and the obstacles disappear like magic. We use the phrase “lucky break” to describe the mysterious…

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The Typical Day of a Successful Writer

Bob Bly is one of the most successful writers I’ve known. He has always been one of my role models as a professional writer. So here is a newsletter that I received from Bob this morning. I liked it so much that I asked his permission to reprint it here. He kindly agreed. Read the…

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How to Write Well and a Lot

Writing well and writing a lot are closely linked. Take a look around you. Usually, people who write well write a lot too. And those who cannot write well cannot write anything at all. There does not seem to be a middle ground. There is a reason why that is so. A very good reason.…

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