2. ENC 3242, Technical Communication for Majors Myths, Assumptions, and War Stories Fall 2015, Week 11 Lecture University of South Florida, Sarasota-Manatee © 2015, T. E. Roberts, Instructor Length of this lecture audio (9 slides): 00:20:46 http://www.todroberts.com/USF/3242_welcome.htm Fall 2015, Week 11 Lecture University of South Florida, Sarasota-Manatee © 2015, T. E. Roberts, Instructor Length of this lecture audio (9 slides): 00:20:46 http://www.todroberts.com/USF/3242_welcome.htm

3. ENC 3242 - Week 11 - Fall 2015 - Slide 1 of 9 Week 11 Agenda  Career fictions vs. career facts  Making your own opportunities  The people you meet  Bar-marketing (and other questionable techniques)  Technology: taming the beast  Why most reality TV is unreal  Don’t overthink or underthink  Assignment 4 Progress

4. ENC 3242 - Week 11 - Fall 2015 - Slide 2 of 9 Career Fictions vs. Career Facts  FICTION: “Jobs are won only by those who are highly organized, methodical, and diligent in their search”  FACT: Some jobs just appear for no known reason, and all you have to do is not botch the opportunity.  FICTION: “There’s no point in applying for a job or a freelance position if I lack the qualifications.”  FACT: Many employers and clients don’t really know what they need until you show them.  FICTION: “If I am a good, hard-working person, I will survive.”  FACT: Unemployment offices are full of good, hard-working persons, waiting in line for hours and growing more depressed by the minute.

5. ENC 3242 - Week 11 - Fall 2015 - Slide 3 of 9 Making Your Own Opportunities  Required reading: “Perspectives” by Samuel Felice, a 2009 USFSM graduate in professional and technical writing: http://www.todroberts.com/USF/Felice_CareerChallenges.pdf http://www.todroberts.com/USF/Felice_CareerChallenges.pdf  Most writers, editors, and communication professionals have a major asset that others may lack: they can articulate their own futures  Even more important than your skill with a computer is your ability to persuade a prospective client or employer to listen to your pitch  “Creativity” is just another word for “trying something new until I get it right”  Look for opportunities where you least expect them Friends, family, volunteer groups, fellow travelers, street people Fellow hobbyists (the stranger the hobby, the better) Rich people who lack effective lawyers and common sense

6. ENC 3242 - Week 11 - Fall 2015 - Slide 4 of 9 The People You Meet  Every PTC professional with some years in the trade knows weird and probably psycho- or sociopathic bosses My count ended with number 12 in 1987 My bosses may have been normal humans at one time, but they became hopelessly twisted and compromised over time I stopped working for bosses entirely in 1987, and I recommend this eventual status to everyone in the business  Despite your own relative youth, you may have already encountered some weirdoes, misfits, and... psychopaths  Learn as much as you can from such people and then move on... quickly

7. ENC 3242 - Week 11 - Fall 2015 - Slide 5 of 9 Bar-Marketing (... and Other Questionable Techniques)  I started as a freelancer in 1974, returned to conventional paycheck employment in 1976, and then became a permanent freelancer in 1987  I built my business initially by buying drinks for prospective clients (mostly business owners and professionals) in upscale bars  This meant eating Ramen-noodle lunches and dinners for a while, but it did pay off in the long run  The equivalent of bars today may be different ( Your Mileage May Vary )

8. ENC 3242 - Week 11 - Fall 2015 - Slide 6 of 9 Technology: Taming the Beast  For a communications professional, technology is just part of the toolkit -- it is not an end in itself  The more skills you have -- and CAN MAINTAIN -- the more opportunities you will enjoy Publication and website design Photography and videography Developing applications, especially for mobile platforms Marketing, selling, and communicating for various products and services  Beware of “ordnance freaks” -- they truly believe that hardware and software are much more important (and interesting) than people  Some “technical writers” put way too much emphasis on “technical” and way too little on “writer”

9. ENC 3242 - Week 11 - Fall 2015 - Slide 7 of 9 Why Most Reality TV Is Unreal  If you think at times you are in a reality TV program but there are no cameras or crew present, you have been working and/or substance-abusing too long  This entertainment is popular with cheapskate producers because it costs very little to purvey self-delusion as a substitute for reality  Reality TV and a communications career have two things in common: Success through path of least resistance Dealing constantly with competing versions of “reality”

10. ENC 3242 - Week 11 - Fall 2015 - Slide 8 of 9 Don’t Overthink or Underthink  A writer or editor is paid to think, not to write or edit  Writing and editing are mere by-products of the thinking process  Overthinking and underthinking resemble over- and undermilking a cow... neither one will satisfy the cow, and both may result in major teat malfunction  The Goldilocks Solution: neither under nor over, but just right!

11. ENC 3242 - Week 11 - Fall 2015 - Slide 9 of 9 Assignment 4 Progress  By the end of Week 11, you should have prepared at least half of your Assignment 4 submission  Finish the draft by Friday, Nov 13  You will then have 17 days to edit, polish, check all references, and proofread before submitting it on Nov 30 (the hardest task is not writing but editing and rewriting !)  If you are talented at rationalizing procrastination, read Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott  Let me know if you have a question -- I am not a mind-reader (or at least not a very good one)  If you’d like to have a Skype call, email me to set up a mutually agreeable time for that. (Be fully clothed for that call and I will be the same.)