Technical Communication Skills Book Reviews Meetings and How to Survive Them Blay Whitby 2005 blayw@sussex.ac.uk

Technical Communication Skills Book Reviews A Basic Technical Communication Skill Fairly Common in Academia Quite Common in Industry 06/04/2019 Technical Communication Skills

Technical Communication Skills Book Reviews Familiar Principles apply: You are helping someone else Know your Target Audience Samples? 06/04/2019 Technical Communication Skills

Technical Communication Skills Book Reviews Approach with questions already prepared: Is it worth buying? Do we need a copy in the library? Is it better/as good/worse than other books in the area? 06/04/2019 Technical Communication Skills

Technical Communication Skills Book Reviews Questions already prepared: Who needs to buy this book? Who needs to read this book? Who will be able to understand this book? If you are given guidelines – use them 06/04/2019 Technical Communication Skills

Technical Communication Skills Book Reviews These, in turn, lead to more specific questions: Does it cover enough subject matter? Does it cover the subject matter in sufficient depth? How deep?; how dense? Is the style suitable for likely readers? If so, who are they? 06/04/2019 Technical Communication Skills

Technical Communication Skills Book Reviews specific questions: Does the index work adequately? How useful are contents, page layout etc? What is the market? Will the publisher make money? Be honest. 06/04/2019 Technical Communication Skills

Technical Communication Skills Meetings Meetings, ....! Meetings Meetings can and do waste an awful lot of time So why do we bother with them? 06/04/2019 Technical Communication Skills

Technical Communication Skills Meetings Functions of Meetings. Meetings can: Define the group Revise or increase group knowledge Let individuals know group aims Create a commitment to group aims Allow a leader to lead a team Provide a status arena 06/04/2019 Technical Communication Skills

Technical Communication Skills Meetings There are many types of meetings: By Size: Public lecture - 1:100 approx. Council meeting - 1:40 approx. Committee - 1:10 approx. Review – 1:1 approx 06/04/2019 Technical Communication Skills

Technical Communication Skills Meetings Types of meetings: By frequency: Daily Weekly Annual Ad hoc 06/04/2019 Technical Communication Skills

Technical Communication Skills Meetings By motivation: Shared – e.g., football team Confrontational – e.g., court Mixed - management 06/04/2019 Technical Communication Skills

Technical Communication Skills Meetings As with reading, writing, etc., the time spent in meetings may be much reduced by being clear in advance about objectives and processes. 06/04/2019 Technical Communication Skills

Technical Communication Skills Meetings So: What is the meeting intended to achieve? What would happen if we did not hold it? How will I judge whether this has been a success or a failure? 06/04/2019 Technical Communication Skills

Technical Communication Skills Meetings Answers tend to fall under 1+ of 4 headings: Informative/digestive – could it be done in some other way? Constructive/originative – brainstorming Executive – shall we do it? Legislative – what are the rules? 06/04/2019 Technical Communication Skills

Technical Communication Skills Meetings Preparation saves time: People – many meetings are overloaded, 4 –7 ideal,10 tolerable. Chairperson – essential Agenda – vital – few can use one properly. Needs to be circulated in advance. Items: for information/for decision 06/04/2019 Technical Communication Skills

Technical Communication Skills Meetings Timing Early part of the meeting is lively People waste time on trivia People are tired after 2 hours It is essential to have a fixed end time 06/04/2019 Technical Communication Skills

Technical Communication Skills Meetings How to Chair Meetings There are as many ways as chairpersons but only one rule: You are there for the benefit of the meeting and not vica versa 06/04/2019 Technical Communication Skills

Technical Communication Skills Meetings Bad chairpersons: Use the meeting to fuel their egos Impose their will at all times Never impose their will Steer the meeting even when it isn’t going anywhere 06/04/2019 Technical Communication Skills

Technical Communication Skills Meetings Structure (yet again). If everyone knows the structure then responses are quick and efficient: What seems to be the trouble? How long has this been going on? Would you please lie down on the couch You seem to have slipped a disk Take this prescription to the chemist…. 06/04/2019 Technical Communication Skills

Technical Communication Skills Meetings Some of the important jobs 1. The Subject: Studies have shown that meetings usually have 2 leaders: a team leader and a task leader 06/04/2019 Technical Communication Skills

Technical Communication Skills Meetings Present the subject – options and actions Keep to the subject Focus on practical decisions (ultra vires) Close quickly after a decision Ensure the decision is recorded – at the end of each item give a summary of the decisions. 06/04/2019 Technical Communication Skills

Technical Communication Skills Meetings Some of the important jobs 2. The People Facilitation – getting maximum performance from the people present 06/04/2019 Technical Communication Skills

Technical Communication Skills Meetings Control the garrulous Draw out the silent Protect the weak Encourage a clash of ideas Watch out for suggestion-squashing reflex Come to the most senior people last Close on a note of achievement 06/04/2019 Technical Communication Skills

Technical Communication Skills 06/04/2019 Technical Communication Skills