Heavy Networking 568: Effective Technical Communication

Today on Heavy Networking, a career-oriented show. We’re discussing how to take those complex engineering systems in your brain and share them in a way other people can understand them. Maybe that’s a co-worker. Maybe that’s your boss. Maybe that’s a presentation to your customer who needs to make a buying decision. Maybe that’s a presentation to the entire company because you’re training them on a new VPN login procedure. Our guest today is Drew Conry-Murray. Yes, *that* Drew, the voice you hear every week on Tech Bytes and Network Break, and guest hosting on other podcasts across the Packet Pushers podcast network. I’ve known Drew for many years. He was my editor when I wrote for Network Computing and Information Week. He was also my handler when I was delivering presentations at Interop conferences. And of course in recent years, Drew has become a Packet Pusher, slaving away in the packet mines alongside me and Greg Ferro. We discuss: * The challenges of communicating technical ideas and concepts * Balancing technical detail with broader outcomes * Why assuming non-technical people are stupid is a bad idea * The power of editing * The value of feedback * Helpful writing tips * More Sponsor: CBT Nuggets CBT Nuggets is IT training for IT professionals and anyone looking to build IT skills. If you want to make fully operational your networking, security, cloud, automation, or DevOps battle station visit cbtnuggets.com/heavynetworking. Show Links: How To Be A Better Tech Writer – Human Infrastructure Newsletter We Need A Better Name For ‘Soft Skills’ – Packet Pushers Document So You Can Go On Vacation – Packet Pushers Overcoming The 5 Objections To Tech Blogging – Packet Pushers