Additions to Technical Communication Skills

[technical writing plus]

Tim, Down at the bottom of that great list that you got from a web site, I
noticed that there was a list that describes the crux of what technical
writers do in their jobs. I've copied that part of the list here. I think
this particular part of the list sums it up quite well. The 'hard skills'
and 'listening' parts of this sublist are most salient, I think. Jim Jones

>> Hard Skills
>> .       Concise, audience-appropriate writing
>> .       Minimalist writing
>> .       Production, copy, and substantive editing
>> Proofreading & page markup
>> .       Web page development
>> .       Online help development
>> Soft Skills
>> .       Creativity,  imagination, visualization
>> Research
>> Listening
>> .       Analyzing audiences
>> .       Writing from point of view of user/reader
>> .       Interviewing people (SMEs and others)
>> .       Facilitating meetings
>> .       Analyzing & managing a project/multiple projects
>> .       Working productively as part of a team
>> .       Working without direct supervision
>> .       Meeting deadlines
>> .       Understanding the product
>> .       Analyzing, planning, prioritizing and organizing skills
>> .       Familiarity with mediums such as user manuals, marketing 
>> literature, technical illustrations, documentation, etc.