Technical Writer

At my work we run information sessions, where we ask people to talk about something they are working on, an area they have expertise in, or tips and techniques they use in their work. The one group of people at my work who don’t share knowledge well are those at the grass roots level—the developers, the system architects and the technical writers.

It’s not that they don’t want to share information. They do. They will happily talk one-on-one or in small, informal groups about the very topics I want them to cover. But as soon as I ask them to do a presentation—and these are very informal presentations—they panic, and find excuses to not do it.

It’s not easy standing in front of a crowd of 30+ people and talking. I, personally, have enough trouble at some meetings, let alone in a larger crowd. But as those of us who have ever been thrust into a training role know—you get better if you keep doing it.

You may never be as good as someone who has natural talent, but you’ll get by. You’ll do a competent job. (Sadly, you also get worse if you stop doing it.) One girl I know got so good at it she got a promotion out of it.

And yet, if you can do it, you really should take these opportunities. There are career benefits:

• It raises your profile as a subject matter expert
• This in turn raises your profile in the company and makes you more valuable (translated, less likely to get the chop when the axe falls)
• And if you do lose your job, you should be more relaxed presenting in front of future prospective employers.

There are so many advantages it’s hard to think of any real disadvantages.

Even so, it’s still traumatic for many people.

There are things you can do to prepare yourself.

• Be prepared. I don’t say you have to plan every talk down to the second, but you will be less stressed if you know what you are going to talk about before you get up. Practise on someone if you can. I ask family and friend to listen. Their eyes glaze over, and sometimes we get bogged down because they don’t understand the technicalities, but it’s still good to run through it. If you can’t find someone to listen, just practise anyway.
• Accept that being nervous is normal and try not to be too stressed about it. It’s easy to say, I know, but try.
• Likewise, understand that the first time you ever do this (and the second, and maybe even the third) you will probably muck it up. It’s not the end of the world. Accept it and move on. You are the only one who really cares how badly you did. Most people haven’t even remembered it half an hour after the presentation.

Lastly, once you agree, don’t talk yourself out of doing the presentation; don’t get so nervous that you back out at the last minute, or call in sick. If you agree to do it, do it.

As the organiser of many of these events, I can tell you it takes a bit of work to set up, even when they are informal, and I know how my perceptions of people change when they cancel at the last minute for no good reason. In fact, I have one colleage at work—brilliant at what he does—who has pulled out on me three times, very close to the function. He’s one very smart man, but I have absolutely no respect for him at all now. How I feel about what he did at those functions colours how I feel about him as a co-worker, and about him in general.

So if you do get asked to present something, don’t panic and automatically say no. Consider it seriously and say yes if you can.

It’s not as hard as you think it is, and it might be very good for your career.