Technical Writing
Less explaining, more doing
These how-to guides for increasing LinkedIn reach for the SoFlo Writing Project were created using Scribe AI, a fantastically helpful tool for technical writers everywhere.
The writer’s skill is in being able to identify the essential steps for your audience while discarding any unnecessary information to streamline future tasks for your coworkers or clients, and editing each step for clarity and precision. Scribe offers code for their products to be embedded as a scrolling document (below left), slides, (below center), or a video (below right).
DEsiGned for understanding
“Show, don’t tell.” This journalistic writing advice extends across genres.
Visualization of data helps connect your audience to a message that could otherwise be obfuscated by numbers and illuminates narratives that may be lost in pages of text, or hidden in a nutritional label. These images and documents were all created using Canva.
Just because it’s easy to read doesn’t mean it’s simplistic.
This infographic extrapolates data on contributing factors to the high rate of cyclist deaths in Broward County, Florida. I created it by synthesizing substantial amounts of quantitative state and county data, supporting this with qualitative data from my daily cycle commute.
Should I write thousands of words? Or should I use images? The answer can be “yes, and yes".
These designs were used to illustrate my seminar paper on the detrimental impact of standardized testing on student thinking and writing.
Complex illustrations are a great tool for creating impact, but simple graphic design can deliver a clear and effective message using, respectively, compare and contrast and sequential techniques.
Short and punchy messages promoting a product are ideal for short attention-grabbing posts on social media to supplement more complex reels and stories.
They can also be printed to display at points of sale.
Technical, yes; boring, No.
Done well, technical writing creates joy, not despair, and understanding, not frustration.
Helping others take part in an event, activity or craft is part of creating community, regardless of whether the audience is in-person or online, work or social. Good technical writing is, at its heart, a tool to promote understanding and remove stressors, by providing helpful, appropriate communication.
My Instructable for no-freeze ice cream was popular on both the Instructables website as well as Reddit.
I took all photos for this instructable using a ring light and my phone camera.
Trying to share this recipe did get me permanently banned from r/easyrecipes feed— for not following instructions. Perhaps their technical writing just needed to be a bit clearer?
Instructable stats (dessert):
2800 views
32 likes
8 comments
Reddit stats (r/budgetfood):
7800 views
4 upvotes
1 share
Professionals deserve professionalism..
Using brand colors and visuals effectively can just make following instructions that bit more straightforward, meaning fewer questions to resolve and a smoother onboarding for participants.
Having been at the mercy of desk-bound reporters’ maps and directions in my early career as a photojournalist, I recognize the courtesy and importance of detailed, unambiguous map-making for others.
University and other educational campuses can be surprisingly confusing for visitors, and knowing not only where to park but also what kind of parking is available, whether free or paid, covered or uncovered, helps promote a sense of welcome and empathy to event attendees.
