TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Re: Interviewing Subject Matter Experts From:Sandra -dot- Friend -at- cbs -dot- fiserv -dot- com To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Thu, 17 May 2001 09:41:59 -0400
Another factor in working with SMEs to keep in mind is that different
people communicate their ideas differently.
I've worked with SMEs who are most comfortable with dissecting, via email,
my interpretation of their explanation, ala "When you explained X, I
understood that to mean X+Y. Is this what you meant?" In return, I
receive crisp, insightful emails that add to the depth of my understanding,
which help me formulate pages and pages of documentation.
Other SMEs have asked me to discuss questions only in person. "I can't
write well, so I never answer your emails" one said, "but sit here and I'll
explain it to you." Point taken. Now we discuss issues in person, and it's
never considered an intrusion for me to wander over to her desk to have a
specific point clarified.
And then there's the SME who feels most comfortable in front of a
whiteboard or a blank piece of paper -- the visual thinker. They
communicate best by diagrams, so we stand around and talk about the diagram
until I get it right.
IMHO, there is no "one size fits all" for interviewing SMEs...you need to
adapt YOUR technique to fit each person you interact with.
Cheers, Sandy
Sandra Friend
Technical Writer
Fiserv CBS International
*** Deva(tm) Tools for Dreamweaver and Deva(tm) Search ***
Build Contents, Indexes, and Search for Web Sites and Help Systems
Available now at http://www.devahelp.com or info -at- devahelp -dot- com
Sponsored by Information Mapping, Inc., a professional services firm
specializing in Knowledge Management and e-content solutions. See http://www.infomap.com or 800-463-6627 for more about our solutions.
---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as: archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot- Visit http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.
