Re: Can someone learn to be detail-oriented?

[Chris Kowalchuk <chris -at- BDK -dot- NET>]

Speaking strictly anecdotally, I think you can learn to respect the
details. I'm very much a big-picture person and do not enjoy "sweating
the small stuff", BUT it is necessary in our line of work to do so. In
my own case, I simply recognize that paying attention to details
requires a greater level of concentration and effort for me than it does
for some others, so I know that I'm only good for a few hours a day of
proofreading or what have you. On the other hand, being constantly aware
of the context in which the details fit is a great help in arranging or
working with those details more intelligently. I think it can be
learned. One might never become "detail oriented" ("orientation" sounds
like a personality trait to me), but that is no excuse for doing sloppy
work. Those who are not detail oriented simply have to use more
organizational tools, checklists, etc. to help remind them to check the
details they might otherwise overlook. Also, in cases of subject matter,
it may be a question of reframing. If a detail (such as, you press the
*red* button to shut off the boiler before it explodes) is important, as
they often are in tech writing, then even a generalist thinker, if
behaving conscientiously, will be aware that without the detail, there
will be serious gaps in the information. Suddenly the particular is a
critical component of the overall system. You can't talk about the
system without it. So the generalist will understand (and deal with) the
details in the context of the overall system or process. If not, what
the heck is he or she writing about?

Chris Kowalchuk

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