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:Typos From:Stuart Burnfield <slb -at- FS -dot- COM -dot- AU> Date:Thu, 27 Feb 1997 14:36:22 +0800
John Prince <prince1 -at- WEBTV -dot- NET> said:
> FYI...I had recently interviewed for a very high paying position as
> a TW. I had a typo on my resume! I almost died when the person I
> interviewed with brought it to my attention. I thought "^%&$, I
> really have to do something!" I don't know why, but I made light of
> it! The interviewer laughed and said he would freak if it happened
> to him as well.
Once I sat in on a sales presentation. One of the people we were
pitching to expressed an interest in report distribution. We had such
a product in beta, and our sales manager ran it up on the workstation
to show them.
They were quite interested, and one person asked, "What stage is the
software at? Is it quite stable?"
The sales manager said "Yes, very stable." Two seconds later the
display went Kaboom! Everyone in the room cracked up laughing.
Luckily, it was nothing to do with the software. One of the sysadmins
had taken down the server for maintenance, not realising there was a
demo in progress.
ObTechwhirl: sitting in on sales presentations is an excellent source
for information and contacts. You find out from what the sales people
emphasise how they are positioning the products. From the customer/
prospect's questions, you learn what problems they need solved, what
tasks they want help with, and what terms they use to describe them.
You also make contacts that you can call up later for answers to
questions, feedback on the software and docs, and beta tests.
TECHWR-L (Technical Communication) List Information: To send a message
to 2500+ readers, e-mail to TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU -dot- Send commands
to LISTSERV -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU (e.g. HELP or SIGNOFF TECHWR-L).
Search the archives at http://www.documentation.com/ or search and
browse the archives at http://listserv.okstate.edu/archives/techwr-l.html