The State of STC as the New Decade Dawns

Hillary Hart, STC 2nd Vice-President, will present an overview of the state of STC at the closing of this year of financial crisis. She will summarize STC’s current financial position, explain the new 2010 dues structure, and describe some of the new benefits and services (the “New Norm”) that are coming online now and in the coming year. (For full details, click on http://www.stc-houston.org/events?event_id=37) 

Hillary will also present her vision of STC’s New Norm: the direction she would like to see the Society take in the next couple of years, with the help of its community leaders and members.

As the STC communities become more similar in administrative structure, increased collaboration and synergy across communities of practice and of geography become possible. Increased use of social media and other online communication technologies enables more timely communication between STC and members. These synergies and enhanced communication are great for both STC and its members but necessitate new infrastructure and bring with them responsibilities for consistent, clear, accurate messaging by all parties.

Hillary would really like to hear from Houston chapter members how they see the STC network of communities evolving and how STC and its communities can partner to advance the profession of Technical Communication.

Meeting Details:

Tuesday, Nov 10, 2009 
5:30pm to 8:00pm (CST)
APQC Bldg. @ The Houstonian Hotel 
123 N. Post Oak Lane 

Networking Hour: 5:30-6:30 p.m.
(includes light snacks and drinks)

Program Meeting: 6:30-8:00 p.m.

Individual Program Meeting Prices

• Members: $20
• Non-Members: $25
• Student Members & Unemployed Members: $15

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By Robert Delwood
Senior Programmer Writer

Microsoft Office 2007 introduced a new type of spelling error:  the contextual misspelling. Noted with blue squiggly underlines, these are words that, although are technically spelled correctly, in their context seem suspicious. The Internet’s now famous poem “Ode To My Spell Checker,” has the lines “Eye halve a spell checker\It came with my pea sea,” making fun of this weakness detecting contextual errors and taking the issue to an amusing extreme. Amusing perhaps, but a serious problem. It’s been estimated that these account for about a quarter to a third of spelling issues. In the work place, these errors range from annoying and embarrassing (such as “Swine flu as a pubic health threat.”) to just plain wrong (“We’re not ready,” for “We’re now ready”).

Finding misspellings is relatively easy. Conventional spell checkers use a word/non-word test. That is, if the word does not appear in a predefined list, then it’s an assumed misspelling. The dictionaries are thorough, too. The Office American English dictionary runs up to 250,00 words and by adding specialized dictionaries such as for legal or medical terms, can reach 300,000. Contextual checking is more difficult. For this, it introduces a newer approach, based on patterns within the language. As an example, for the phrase “the sky is …,” falling or blue are the most commonly associated words. This is not because of any linguistic rule but simply that those patterns occur most often. To continue, if it’s not one of those two words, then it may be flagged, a sort of grammatical reverse Family Feud. Like the dictionaries, the pattern base is thorough. Microsoft analyzed billions of sentences looking for these patterns.

What is the contextual spell checker looking for? In short, any set of unlikely combinations, from variations of closed case words (too for to), or wrongly split (through out for throughout), to malapropisms, homonyms, or eggcorns. Mercifully, as a collection they are called real word errors although malapropism is commonly used, even among linguistic elites. These further divide into fair and unfair malapropisms. The difference is that an unfair one is in a context that automation couldn’t reasonably be expected to identify such as employee for employer, and not for now as pointed out earlier. This also includes unusually obscure occurrences, such as tunning, (the act of pouring wine into a cask or tun) for running, or anything Yogi Berra might say. Unfair malapropisms are excluded from this discussion.

So how accurate is Word’s contextual detection? In general, Word’s ability to locate contextual errors is low and can miss up to 70% of the actual occurrences. However, of the terms it does find, it’s almost always correct. On the other hand, it has about a 70% accuracy rate when suggesting corrections. When one is offered, it’s usually, but not always, correct. In the remainder of cases, if offers no suggestions.

Even with these limitations, it still has value. Microsoft will likely improve this record with each release. The contextual error system is closely related to their speech recognition enterprise, which is active and expanding. Nevertheless, understand how the checker works and always be conscientious of this during your own reviews. For example, it’s possible to introduce real word errors into documents by carelessly accepting suggestions. Human editors aren’t obsolete yet.

Words That Only a Logophile Could Love

The following is a brief list of related terms. Not all of them affect contextual spellings.

• A malapropism uses an incorrect word for a word with a similar sound, and the resulting phrase makes no sense. “Alcohol lets down your prohibitions.” (“inhibitions”).
• An eggcorn is like a malapropism except the resulting phrase has meaning that is different from the original, but could still have meaning. “Old-timers’ disease” for “Alzheimer’s disease.”
• A euphemism uses a less intense word in place of a stronger or offensive word. “Pre-owned” for “used”. In the late 20^th century euphemisms were used extensively as a form of doublespeak, often to intentionally mislead, or even outright lie.
• Dysphemism (also malphemism, cacophemism) is the opposite of a euphemism in that a strong word is used in place of a weaker one. “Egghead” for “smart person.” Taken further, the dysphemism treadmill introduces harsh or shocking words as existing words lose their impact. A cacophemism implies an intentional offensive use of the word. A Cacography is deliberate comic misspelling, usually for a verbal caricature.
• Spoonerism is the switching of sounds among words. “Let me sew you to your sheet” for “Let me show you to your seat.”
• A portmanteau word is one formed from two existing words. “Brunch” is combined from “breakfast” and “lunch.” “Seinfeld” even asked “How come there’s no ‘lupper’ or ‘linner’?
• Catachresis is a misused word especially in a mixed metaphor. Alternately, it’s using an existing word to denote something that has no name in the current language.
• A figure of speech (or locution) is a word or phrase with a meaning not based on the literal meaning of the words. These include metaphors, similes, or personifications.
• A solecism is a grammatical error or a sentence turned into an absurdity. “I could care less” to mean “I couldn’t care less”.

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STC has a brand-new member benefit available—a special logo that members can use on resumes, business cards, email signatures, and more to identify themselves as an STC Member, Senior Member, Associate Fellow, or Fellow.

These logos are only for use by STC members. They are available in horizontal and vertical versions, and are high-resolution 300 dpi PNG graphic files, so they are suitable for all types of media.

Please see the Specialized STC Logos page and click on “Guidelines for Using the STC Logo” for the terms of use and then download the logos by clicking on “Specialized STC Logos.”

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Mastering Communication in an Ever-Changing World

by Jennifer Smith

It’s that time again when the art and science of technical communications come together—as in Leonardo da Vinci’s “Proportions of Man” (aka, Vitruvian Man)—for our annual STC Houston Awards Competition.

Today’s technical communicators work in an environment of constant change and questioning, much like da Vinci faced during the Renaissance. Are you keeping up with the times or, better yet, breaking barriers and inventing new ways to communicate?

Find out how you rate by submitting technical publications, online communications, or technical art for comprehensive judging against industry standards.

Participating in the 2009–2010 STC Awards Competition offers a unique opportunity to

• find out whether your work meets—or exceeds—rigorous standards set at the society level
• learn how to hone your skills even more on the basis of judges’ tips
• understand what it takes to make your work award-winning
• demonstrate your value to bosses, upper management, and potential employers
• potentially earn international recognition (if your entries are chosen to compete at the international level).

For full details about the competition, including guidelines, instructions, and forms for submitting entries, visit the Competitions link on the STC Houston Chapter web site: http://www.stc-houston.org/competitions.html

To compete, entries and entry fees must be received no later than October 15, 2009.

Review by Robert Delwood,
Senior Programmer Writer

By now, Microsoft Office 2007 users should have adapted to the new interface. There are new features that are well documented, although how practical they are remains to be seen. I find that the biggest annoyance is locating those functions that I know exist but have been moved.

Yet, like any pervious version of Office, there are also plenty of hidden features or features many users just don’t know about. Microsoft does a disservice to the community by not documenting these better than they do. It’s been joked that unless you double-click every pixel on the screen, you haven’t found all the functions. That’s not far from the truth. The following are some lesser-known Word features that may be of interest to users. Not all of them are new to 2007, just under-documented.

Switching documents. If you have multiple documents open, you can switch among them by using Alt-F6. As a note, the early keyboards, those from the 1980s through the mid 1990s, had the F keys on the left side, next to the Shift. This allowed one handed operations, such as Shift –F5. I wish they’d bring that back. Moving the Tab key, and removing the Caps Lock altogether. However, I digress.

Sticky Formatting. The Format Painter, the paint brush icon, allows you to apply a style and format by sweeping over the intended text. Put the cursor in text with the style to be copied, click Format Painter (the icon will change), and sweep over the text to change. If you double click that icon, it retains that formatting so you can reapply it multiple times. In general, Format Painter is not a new feature, but properly done this time. Word 2003’s Format Painter would eventually corrupt a document, since Word didn’t handle copied styles elegantly. That doesn’t seem to be a problem with the new XML format (.docx).

Finding Your Way. In large documents, it’s easy to get lost, or at least lose where you had been. Clicking Shift-F5 moves the cursor back to the last location that had the cursor, usually an edit. Keep doing it: Word remembers up to the last four locations. It’ll even remember if one of the last four places was in another open document.

Moving Paragraphs. If you have to move a paragraph, you can use cut and paste, although there may be times you don’t want to lose you clipboard. You can also click and drag the highlighted text to the new location. Alternatively, you can use Alt-Shift and the Up or Down arrow key. This moves the entire paragraph in which the cursor is located in that direction. Be careful not to use the left or right arrows, which change the style. Of more concern is that using Alt Shift changes the keyboard from English to Russian, if you have that installed.

Easy Find. If you’re looking for a term, the annoying Find dialog tends to cover up part of the document, or in some cases, the very term you want to see. A better way is to close the dialog after the first find and use the quick find (the double arrows below the left scroll bar). Clicking up or down finds that occurrence in that direction. That feature is even more useful. Click the circle and additional options can be selected, such as finding tables, fields, or previous edits (see Finding Your Way above).

Finis. Prepare feature is new to 2007 and performs several useful checks on document. Ostensibly to ready them for release but it’s convenient to make sure a document is clean. Located in the Office button, select Prepare (under Print). Properties, Encrypt, Restrict, and Digital Signature are similar enough to the Word 2003 versions. The others are new:

Inspect. This helps locate information you may not want released. Specifically, it locates comments, hidden text, track changes, comments, or document properties that might include e-mail addresses or names.

Mark as Final. This locks the file for changes. This is not a security feature and should not be considered as such. Rather, it lets users know it’s a final candidate and this is a convenient way of preventing changes.

Compatibility Checker. This checks for items that might be problems in earlier Word versions. If your organization or clients still use Word 2003 or earlier, this makes sure the document can be easily opened by them. It would note any features that those versions do not support such as some embedded ActiveX controls, themes, equations, and citations. Along this note, Office may impose additional restrictions. For example, if working in Excel 2007 and you create a spreadsheet with more than 65,536 rows, you will not be able to save it in the old .xls format since it can’t support the excessive number of rows.

September 2009 Meeting

Submitted by Stephanie Donovan
Secretary/Education & Outreach

Have you ever submitted a resume for a job but were never called for an interview? Don’t miss our September meeting on Tuesday, September 8, 2009!

In a follow-up to his popular “The Top 10 Mistakes Writers Make When Looking For Work” session, returning speaker Jack Molisani will present little-known facts about resumes and the hiring process that may be hurting your chances of landing a new job.

“For years I have resisted speaking about resumes, thinking that everything that could possibly be said about resumes has already been covered. But after seeing candidate after candidate rejected based on what they had—and didn’t have—in their resumes, I realized that it’s time for me to step up and share what I have observed over the years: Job hunting secrets that might surprise you.”  — Jack Molisani, President, ProSpring Technical Staffing

About the speaker:

Jack Molisani was a Project Officer in the Space Division of the USAF before starting ProSpring Technical Staffing, an employment agency specializing in engineers, project managers and technical writers: www.ProspringStaffing.com

Jack also produces The LavaCon Conference on Professional Development. The seventh annual LavaCon will be held October 25–27, 2009 in New Orleans in partnership the GNO PMI chapter: www.lavacon.org

Jack is also offering a spectacular door prize – a free entrance to LavaCon – so bring your business card for the drawing!

Note: Meeting Location CHANGE!  This is a different Mustang building and location than our last chapter meeting:

Tuesday, September 8, 2009
5:30 PM – 7:30 PM
Mustang Engineering
17000 Katy Fwy.
Houston, TX 77094

By Rick V. Sanchez
President, STC Houston

STC Houston pledged to send $28,000 to our parent STC organization to help deliver STC from its current financial circumstances. That pledge is vital to the survival of our parent organization and will be used to resolve STC’s deficit problem announced earlier this year.

In May 2009, during leadership day of the annual STC conference, the directors of our parent organization described a financially disturbing situation. They predicted a possible shortfall of $1.3 million, which would potentially bankrupt the organization if corrective actions were not taken. At that time, approximately $1.2 million were stored in the collective coffers of all STC chapters.

The STC directors explained that the projected shortfall was based, in part, on the STC economic model. STC spends approximately $250 per member but, on average, receives under $200 in dues per individual member. Thus, according to our parent organization, STC was spending more per member than it received from membership dues. The dues shortfall and the bad economy were cited as reasons for the financial distress of the parent organization. To cope with this situation, STC has cut back on office costs, employees, and other expenditures. To raise additional funds, STC has contracted with professionals that will help identify new revenue streams. In addition, STC has acquired a line of credit that has reduced the originally projected $1.3 million shortfall. All of these steps lessened but did not eliminate the shortfall. While the amount of the adjusted shortfall is uncertain, it is clear that STC needs the help of each local chapter in order to stay solvent.

Without the support of each chapter, the parent organization would not be able to meet its financial obligations—in which case, both the parent organization and the local chapters would eventually, perhaps after costly litigation, cease to exist. Therefore, the parent STC organization asked each chapter to produce an 18-month budget that identified what it would cost for each chapter to maintain the level of service it has offered in years past. In essence, no new initiatives would be allowed unless those initiatives could be proven profitable. Moreover, any initiative that caused a negative cash flow must be thoroughly reviewed and justified.

Houston completed its budget well within the proposed deadline, thanks to the many hours that our local directors and committee managers dedicated to the effort. However, because a portion of Houston’s revenue comes from member dues, and because the parent STC organization will be keeping those dues entirely, STC Houston is in search of replacement funds.

In past years, the Houston chapter functioned under a $2,000 per year deficit without harm because of generous donations and the hard work of its dedicated members. This year, the loss of membership dues has exacerbated our small annual deficit. But due to our chapter’s resourcefulness, STC Houston is in a position to help our parent organization regain its financial footing. We have the capacity to assist because of a financial cushion that we accumulated by hosting a Houston-based STC conference, which produced a surplus.

The efforts of those who labored to raise those funds from the Houston-based STC conference have not gone unnoticed; in fact, some of the current STC Houston administrative council resisted sending funds to the parent organization because those funds were gained solely through the wit and hard work of the STC Houston chapter volunteers. In the end, however, council members realized that STC Houston, like other chapters, would literally have to close its doors unless it helps sustain the parent organization, through which all chapters are incorporated. Due to the incorporation, all funds held by an STC chapter are, by law, owned by the parent organization. Thus, any chapter not contributing requested funds would not be following corporation guidelines. On the contrary, STC Houston is a supportive chapter with a proven track record of generosity, prudence, courage, and perseverance; therefore, in keeping with that spirit, we have pledged to be magnanimous and fulfill our mission.

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STC Houston Celebrates Our Past and Our Future

STC Houston members will be gathering on June 9th at the Crowne Plaza Hotel for the end of the program year celebration. Come join us for a night of networking and celebrating our accomplishments of this past year. This social event allows us to thank all the volunteers who have contributed to our success. Meet the new Administrative Council members as we transition to the new program year. For more information and to RSVP, please see the List of Events.

Celebration Date, Time, and Location:

June 9, 2009
5:30PM to 7:30PM
Crowne Plaza (formerly Holiday Inn Select)
2712 Southwest Freeway
Houston, TX

Westchase

Stop by on Wednesday, June 3rd  from 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM at Luby’s, 12121 Westheimer Rd, #100 (Westheimer near Kirkwood) for good conversations with great people! RSVP to Julia Land, Monica Waddell, or Cynthia Claxton networklunch_westchase@stc-houston.org. 

Thanks to the Volunteers on the Newsletter Team!

by Debra Page
Managing Editor

A special thanks to all the volunteers on the Dateline Houston newsletter team for 2008-09!

Newsletter Committee Volunteers

The production of the newsletter is only possible with the hard work and dedication of the editors. The core team includes associate editors Melanie Boston, Jan Brantley, and Jamie Diamandopoulos. Each month, they edit articles and proofread each issue. Next time you see them at a program meeting, be sure to stop them and tell them they are doing a great job!

Newsletter Article Contributors

Thanks to all the volunteers who contributed articles to Dateline Houston this year, sharing information with the community through our online newsletter. You can’t have a newsletter without content, and the following members have taken time out of their busy schedules to write articles for the STC membership: Noel Atzmiller, Guy Ball (OCSTC), Kathy Delisle, Robert Delwood, Alyssa Fox, Rene Gedaly, Lori Gillen, Suzanne Guess, Hillary Hart, Char James-Tanny, Crystal Johnson, Tom Johnson, Linda King, Sharon Lynn, Paul Mueller, Cindy Pao, Alan Porter, Deborah Silvi, George Slaughter, Gary Michael Smith, Becca Taylor.

Pragmatic Thinking and Learning: Refactor Your Wetware

Author: Andy Hunt
O’Reilly Books, 2008
Pages: 271
ISBN 10: 1-934356-05-0/
ISBN 13: 978-1-934356-05-0
MSRP: $34.95
http://oreilly.com/catalog/9781934356050/

Book Review by Robert Delwood,
Senior Programmer Writer

Let’s take a moment to stop learning about something and start learning about learning. That is, let’s try to understand how we acquire new information in order to retain it in a practical way. Andy Hunt’s Pragmatic Thinking and Learning: Refactor Your Wetware focuses on the brain itself, helping us to understand how it processes information with the goal being for us to adapt more efficiently.

Hunt is a programmer who noticed that in forty years of computer design, the industry’s defect density remained constant. If everything else was changing, the only other factor was people. Perhaps, he thought, we are addressing the wrong questions, and that we aren’t learning correctly. This book isn’t about whether we learn best by doing or being taught, although there is that aspect, it’s about redesigning and rewiring our brains.

First we must understand how learning works. The brain processes information in two modes. The first mode processes the conscious, language, and logical thought, what we commonly view as “thinking”. This is the mode we can explicitly control and is called linear or L-mode. The other mode is very different and processes information in our subconscious. It’s always searching for relationships among memories, finding patterns, and storing data. This is called rich or R-mode. This mode explains why a Jeopardy answer comes to you a week later. It also processes information that can’t be verbalized. Each one of us knows hundreds or thousands of people. We can’t describe their faces yet we recognize them by sight instantly, even twenty years later. Some actions don’t even require conscious thinking. A piano player doesn’t think about each note, it just happens, albeit through practice.

Working against us is that the brain processes so much information that it must make assumptions. Have you ever driven to work and realized you don’t recall anything from the last ten minutes? Chances are your brain decided nothing significant occurred and therefore didn’t index anything. In addition, we forget. Brain chemicals stop working, or older information gets replaced. We think of memories as “read-only” operations (remember, Hunt’s a programmer) but actually, they are “read-write” operations. In other words, the very act of recalling a memory risks changing it. It seems haphazard, but the trick is to make the two modes cooperate.

The traditional approach, the passive act of being taught, doesn’t work. In that regard, no one can “teach” us. We can be lectured all day about rock climbing but it doesn’t make us rock climbers. We have to “learn” and that is tied to experience. That’s why dreams seem so ethereal to describe: There is no experience. Facilitating cooperation between the two modes begins with Hunt’s maxim, “Lead with R-mode; follow with L-mode.” R-mode only needs the most meager of information. Even doodling is helpful since it ties information to an experience. For producing results, take the writer’s adage “write drunk, edit sober.” Not to be taken literally, this stresses letting the creativity flow at first, then use logical processes to refine the work. For learning, gain some experience first, learn more about it, and then dive into the experience.

As an example, he points out a rock climbing course (mentioned earlier). The instructor suited them up, let them practice climbing for 20 minutes, then lectured. As a result, the class gained context for the lecture and could better understand the discussion. This example also included some other fundamentals. They were provided a safe environment to learn (suiting up with supervision); failing was critical to their success (understanding right and wrong footwork); they had a goal in mind (an outdoor climb later in the course), and they were given the opportunity to play (practice climbing). The last point has taken on unfortunate meanings in the workplace, but play is anything that makes problem-solving fun. Finally, they were given a legitimate way to solve a problem, seemingly “doing nothing” by taking a break (“defocus to refocus”).

Many examples may seem familiar and this book attempts to consolidate these into a coherent process. The 271-page book goes into more details, most with concrete and practical examples. In nine chapters, his easy-to-read style takes the journey from being a novice to expert in steps, including understanding the brain, thinking in new ways, the process of learning, how to handle experiences, and redirecting learning processes. In a field with new age nuisances, and almost absurd theories, his approach is grounded and practical.

Managing Your Distractions

As if learning weren’t hard enough, we also have to deal with distractions. A distraction is any event that causes us to lose our train of thought from a deep involvement. Unlike a computer which is designed to switch contexts, the human brain is not. Research shows it takes twenty minutes to recover from a distraction. Ignoring the researchers, just ask any Sudoku player who had to stop to reboot the kid’s computer. Obviously, it doesn’t take much to fragment a work day. Academically, this is known as “cognitive overload,” – but we know it as multitasking, and put simply: It doesn’t work. We can’t concentrate on many things at once and do them all well. Therefore, manage your distractions such as by closing the office door, planning time for those tasks, or simply turning off your email. In a controversial English study, researchers found that bad email habits were more counterproductive than smoking cannabis. Some distractions just require personal fortitude such as avoiding Google, YouTube, Digg, or, perhaps, smoking cannabis.

Walking Problems Through

There are ways to encourage the R-Mode to reveal clues to solving a problem. One easy way is by walking. But you have to do it correctly. Do you know the difference between mazes and labyrinths? A maze has multiple entrances, exits, and presents choices along the way. High walls prevent you from seeing the goal. A maze is meant to be a thinking puzzle. In contrast, a modern labyrinth is meant for mediation. There is only one path and no decisions. Today, you’ll find them near churches, hospitals, and hospices by no accident. These are all places meant for healing and reflection. In our terms, they are meant to minimize L-Mode processes and let the R-Mode take over with a stream of consciousness. A walk on a solitary beach or a quiet woods has the same affect. Ironically, the key on these walks is to not actually think about the problem.

Giving of Your Time Effectively

By Guy Ball,
OCSTC Senior Member

What if I told you that you could learn new skills on someone else’s dime, try out new ideas with a “client” who is just appreciative that you’re helping, and maybe even network yourself into a new job or a new direction in the process?

A Win-Win Situation

I won’t use the “dirty ‘V’ word” to taint this conversation. Let’s just call it helping out, paying it forward, maybe even good karma. Works for me. I’ve been loaning my technical writing skills for free to a few nonprofit organizations over the last couple of years and, besides helping them with needed skills, I’ve received more benefits than I ever expected. I’ve learned how to adapt to new situations better, “do more with less,” and to think like a guerilla fighter in the war on providing maximum content on a minimum budget.

And I’m not alone. Look a little closer at our OCSTC organization and you’ll see people who maintain dynamic web sites, produce award-winning newsletters, coordinate educational programs, and organize some pretty great events—all on their own time and with no expectation of financial return.

But let’s talk about sharing communication skills that are, at times, in short supply in the outside world. How many nonprofit groups could benefit from a few hours of your help in rewriting mission statements, program brochures, or event instruction materials for their staff?

Do you want to grow your skill set or offer yourself some variation from the same types of material you do day in/day out? How about creating a newsletter for your local community foundation or an informative web site for a new cancer patient support group? Are you interested in history or science? Small museums are always in need of informative little brochures to help their visitors. They don’t need to be fancy; just well written. How about doing something that impacts not just one or two, but hundreds or thousands of people?

A few years ago, tech writer Sam Poppas was simply helping out when the teacher at his son’s school asked him to speak at career day. Sam puts in his 40-plus hours a week and was content coming home and just dealing with family stuff, but he liked the idea of sharing his career with students. After his presentation, the principal asked if he could help out by writing a brief summary of a program the school was trying to get a grant for. Sam saw how disorganized they were and eventually took over the whole grant application, and the school won the funds. Sam commented that the feeling of elation over the success was unlike anything he’s felt at work for a long time. And without Sam’s help, they probably would not have gotten the grant.

“Writers have a unique and valuable talent that can advance the missions of local nonprofits. Your service is needed now more than ever to help address critical community issues,” noted Dan McQuaid, CEO and president of Volunteer Center Orange County, the county’s leading group connecting skilled volunteers with organizations that need assistance. “Volunteer Center can connect you to make a meaningful contribution that utilizes and expands your skills.”

What sort of projects might you be able to do? I’ve mentioned a few. Others I’ve personally helped with include editing, formatting, and publishing minibooks for a local historical society; collaborating with graphic designers on a downtown walking tour guide; developing a video-based oral history program; and, my favorite, writing a book on local history for a mainstream publisher.

Did I get paid for any of this? Outside of the miniscule book royalty, nope, nada, nothing. Did I learn new tools, have amazing control over projects, and feel like I impacted a whole bunch of people? You bet!

Sam said it well. “I picked up new skills that I was able to bring to my work environment, and it’s made me a bit more valuable. And should something unfortunate happen to my job, I can move into grant writing to bring in some extra income.” (He’s already written a few more.)

Pace Yourself

Let’s talk about the caveats, though. If you’ve volunteered for anything, you know there are too few people doing it, and you will be called on for other unplanned roles. This is a great way to get burnt out on a relationship with a particular group as your workload increases. Try very hard to limit the extra work you find yourself taking on to the tasks you really want to do. Try to suggest better ways to do existing things so that you’re creating a value (and interest) to your work—not just filling in a gap. This philosophy has kept me interested in continuing what I do (15 years with one group alone!)

Try hard not to impact your family time or the open time that’s very important for you. I tend to do a lot of my work late at night once my family has gone to bed. Learn about the group and their operation before you overwhelm them with your great new ideas. Often, an organization operates a certain way because of deeper reasons—or personalities. Your new idea might be wonderful, but it could also hurt them as everyone scrambles to accommodate something you’re trying to change. (On the other hand, you could also be that breath of fresh air they’ve needed for years!)

Don’t start a project you can’t finish. I’ve helped out several groups with web sites that the previous volunteer never completed. The group was left hanging to dry when the well-meaning webmaster got busy with something else in life. Don’t enter into a project if you can’t finish or gracefully complete it in a short time. (Remember, these people will talk—and they will either relate how you “walk on water” or left a big mess that no one could fix.)

Lastly, and possibly just as important. Remember, someday, you will not be there to help. For recurring projects, try to make your work as simple to follow as possible. Try not to work in complex tools if you can. I’ve created newsletters in Word and web sites in FrontPage—all because I knew that whoever was going to take it on would not be using InDesign or Dreamweaver. I purposely designed things that can be easily updated by a novice. (I made sure they had lots of copy/paste solutions.)

The Benefits You Reap

At the start of this article, I spoke of the new skills you would learn, the new ideas you could bring to an appreciative client, and the new career direction you might stumble upon. The more you do, the more you will gain back. It’s worked for so many of us willing to give it a try. It’s really not rocket science. It’s smartly using your talents to help others.

Payback? Well, how about smiling faces, a very grateful organization, a successful event or project where you had serious input, and a wonderful feeling deep in your gut. All without worrying about how it was going to look on your yearly review?

And maybe, just maybe, a payback of a better, smarter you as you head off into the crazy job market.

Guy Ball is a senior technical writer for EADS North America Defense Test and Services in Irvine, California. He’s volunteered his technical writing skills for over 20 years and swears it gave him skills that let him grow his career and discover new opportunities. He’s written a couple of books, created a few organizational web sites, developed an award-winning history coloring book for kids, and works on “too many” unpaid writing projects that keep him up, happily, late at night. His web site is guyball.com.