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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.
> >In your opinion, would technical writers benefit from public
> >relations training in addition to technical writing training?
That depends on what you want to do. If you want to stay doing only technical
writing, then there wouldn't be much point. However, if you are interested in
branching out to marketing and business writing, then you might want to look
into the subject.
As for training, that depends on how deeply you want to (or have to) go into
the other areas of writing. You can learn much of what you need to know on the
job. I had already written a number of news releases before I took a class on
it, and, while the class helped me to organize my knowledge and taught me a few
tricks, I could have survived without it if I had to.
For your company or clients, one advantage of going from technical writing to
public relations is that (assuming you're any good as a technical writer), your
PR can be informed by product knowledge. Companies that outsource marketing
often find that at least one full-time employee has to spend a lot of time
overseeing the work, to make sure that it reflects some version of reality.
There are also many cases where someone who knows how to market but doesn't
know the product makes mistakes that embarrass the company.
For the writer, the advantage can be added job interest (if marketing interests
you), potential career advancement, and a hedge against being laid off.
--
Bruce Byfield bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com 604-421.7177
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