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Subject:Re: Another question I've had for years... From:TechComm Dood <techcommdood -at- gmail -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Sat, 16 Oct 2004 19:21:23 -0400
> I agree with Dood on this one - food is definitely not the answer. Learning
> to work with the SMEs as part of a team certainly is.
Yay! Someone agrees with me! Can't you feel the love? ;-)
> Generally, when someone is difficult to pry information from, there's a
> reason. Either the SME is genuinely swamped and doesnt' have the time, the
> information doesn't exist yet, or the SME has really poor written
> communication skills and is running away from you scared. (Don't laugh. I've
> seen it happen)
Other reasons could be:
* The tech writer is approaching the situation wrong.
* The tech writer asks questions that are already answered by the SMEs
in the specs.
* The tech writer isn't good about making the best use of the SME's time.
etc.
Sometimes we're 100% to blame, and we need to learn to take our lumps
and get better about doing our jobs. I know because I did.
> Sorry, I've lost the original post. Wasn't the question how to handle this
> question at a job interview. Well, my answer is that it isn't an "us and
> them" situation. I fully integrate myself into the team and get to know all
> the members. When they are recalcitrant, I attempt to find the reason and
> over come it. It's a lot easier to get info from a SME you've just had
> lunch/played ping pong/shared a crossword puzzle with.
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