Never underestimate your ability to see the gaps in conversations, hear the confusions, and understand competing goals in the decision-making process. If you’re in the room and being observant, then you can focus on improving the communication and making sure that critical information is gathered and delivered. You can figure out what is beneficial for the customer to know and for your organization to know.
You are the neutral third-party. You can soften the noise and be a conduit for information to be exchanged, improving the client relationship and chances of project success. If you don't have this experience, where do you find it? How do you learn to be a strategic communicator on the front lines in multi-cultural environments?
As a tech communicator who has lived abroad, and worked in an international non-profit environment, and served on the front lines for a software for-profit company interacting with their clients, I compare the two work cultures and the value we bring to each.
About the Visiting Dojo Expert
Nancy Larbi is a Senior Technical Communicator at SAS. An associate Fellow of the STC, founding member of Tech Writers Without Borders, Nancy was a bilingual technical writer for UNESCO in Paris half her career. For the other half she is a customer-facing technical communicator on project implementation teams at SAS. She is in a high-touch role with customers adopting new technology and manages documentation deliverables on remote teams. Attentive and delicate at managing client, organization, and team cultures. Nancy is bilingual in French and a French literature scholar.
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Recorded: 3 June 2019
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Resources
Learn more about Tech Writers Without Borders:
- Website: techwriterswithoutborders.org
- LinkedIn Group: https://www.linkedin.com/company/techwriterswithoutborders/about/
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