Post on 15-Jul-2015
BizTech Communications without Tears: Writing & Presenting Made Easy
David E. GoldbergIllinois Foundry for Innovation in Engineering Education University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignUrbana, Illinois 61801 USAdeg@illinois.edu
Motivation
• Engineers often relish technical work.• Don’t necessarily like to communicate
it: Cool Hand Luke.• Need to understand
– Why we don’t like to write or present.
– Key differences between English/Rhetoric class &BizTechwriting/presenting.
• Mission nearly impossible: Writing & presenting complex, but can quickly survey success keys.
Paul Newman (1925-2008)
Roadmap
• Writing process:
– Prime directive of writing.
– Freewriting for loosening writer’s block.
– Quickplanning as opposed to full outlines.
• Key difference & structures of BizTech writing:
– B-P-R: Background, purpose, roadmap.
– Lists & amplification.
• Elements of a BizTech presentation.
Prime Directive of Writing
• Writing process:• How many like to write?
Why or why not?• Key problem: Endless circle
of write and criticize.• Prime directive is to just
write.• Separate writing into phase
I, generation, phase II, quickplanning, and phase III, revision.
• Must practice. How?
StarFleet Prime Directive (General
Order #1): Don’t interfere with pre-
warp cultures.
Modeling Phase I: Freewriting
• In Elbow’s Writing with Power freewriting
exercise a key.
• Freewriting = writing without crossing off
on anything that comes to mind for fixed
interval.
• Let’s do it for 3 minutes.
• Rules:
– No stopping. Repeat nonsense phrase if
stuck.
– No crossing out. Not one word.
• Direct style freewriting at particular task
Phase II: Quickplanning
• Full outlines can inhibit good writing.
• Use quickplanning.
• Like creating bullet points for a ppt presentation.
• Do it hierarchically as necessary:
– For the whole piece.
– Section by section.
• Subject to discovery of logic, content, and interrelationship.
Phase III: Cut-and-Paste Revision
• Just writing doesn’t create a written piece.
• Phase III: Cut-and-paste revision.
• Try it on physical paper first (no computers initially).
• Steps:– Write every other line.
– On one side of sheet.
– Use scissors and glue stick.
– Take directed “freewriting” as raw material.
– Cut, paste, and interpolate between the lines.
– Write new paragraphs as necessary.
Key Δ& Structures of BizTech Writing
• How is BizTech writing different from LAS writing?
• Business/technical writers are all busy:
– Need cues to where they are (roadmaps, titles, key words).
– May not read everything (elements self-contained).
– Different readers may read differently (techies vs. CEO).
• Two key structures to promote effective BizTechreading writing: B-P-R & lists and amplification.
B-P-R: Fundamental Structure of Writing
• Forget freshmen English: No clever essays here.
• What should I write about? How to start?
• Every piece, every section need:
– Background (history & motivation).
– Purpose (of the piece, section).
– Roadmap (of the remainder).
• Army saying: Tell ‘em what you’re going to say, say it, and tell ‘em what you said.
Background
• Sometimes called motivation.
• The fundamental discontinuity.
• What is the context of what’s coming?
• Project history & background, motivation, times, dates, players.
• But remember, the clock is ticking.
Rhetorical Purpose
• “The purpose of this report (memo, section, letter, e-mail, whatever) is X.”
• “In this report we present X.”
• Say it. Not a mystery novel or freshmen essay.
• Don’t confuse project purpose with rhetorical purpose.
• Rhetorical purpose is the purpose of the piece (report, memo, section, whatever).
Roadmap
• Build a mental model or map for your reader. Tell them what is next.
• “In the remainder, we examine X, Y, and Z.”
• “The remainder of the report examines X, Y, and Z.”
• If you don’t tell them where you are going, how will they know when they get there?
B-P-R Iterated Hierarchically
• Same structure used at the beginning of the report.
• At the beginning of the section.
• At the beginning of subsections.
• Less context needed when you are in the middle, but still needed.
• BizTech reader may not have read previous section.
BizTech Writer’s Friend: Lists & Amplification
• Lists and amplification.• Lists can be bulleted, numbered, either broken
out or in line.• Use lists a great deal.• “In this section we cover the following 3 items:
1. Item 12. Item 23. Item 3
The remainder examines each in more detail.”• List them, then amplify each item in sequence.
Elements of a BizTech Presentation
• Title, author & affiliation
• Foreword (Motivation)
• Overview
• Body
• Summary and conclusions
Titles as an Important Element
• Is title a separate element?• First element seen or heard.• Decision to attend may be based on title
alone.• Should be informative and interest-
provoking.– A Comparative Analysis of Selection
Methods in Genetic Algorithms– Genetic Algorithms, Noise, and the
Sizing of Populations– A Gentle Introduction to Genetic
Algorithms– Six Ways to GA Happiness– Don’t Worry, Be Messy
Foreword or Motivation
• Foreword, not forward: A word at the fore.
• Sometimes called motivation.
• Two parts:
– Background.
– Rhetorical purpose.
Roadmap or Overview
• Overview or Roadmap: laundry list of key topics.
• Necessary road map for you and audience.
• Intermediate overview slides helpful in long talks.
• Foreword + Roadmap = BPR of writing.
1921 IL Roadmap
Body
• Hard to generalize.
• Writing-like structure and flow.
• Miller rule for bullets: 7±2 chuck size.
• Eliminate unnecessary words: Transparency-speak.
Summaries and Conclusions
• Much confusion between summaries and conclusions.
• Summary: What talk said.
• Conclusion: How audience should change action or thought as a result of what talk said.
• Recommendation: Action conclusion.
Summary
• Perfection as enemy of good BizTechwriting/presenting.
• 3 phase approach:
– Freewriting as practice to loosen pens.
– Quickplanning to get the flow.
– Cut-and-paste revision
• Key difference: Busy people BPR and lists
• 5 Elements of a presentation.
Bottom Line
• BizTech seems daunting:
– Separate writing from revision: creative key.
– Quickplan, don’t overplan.
– Know that your reader/listener is busy: provide devices like BPR and lists as aids to navigation.
– Master the elements of a presentation.
• Can be a master engineering communicator, to benefit of your work and career.