BizTech Communications without Tears: Writing & Presenting Made EasyDavid E. GoldbergIllinois Foundry for Innovation in Engineering Education University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignUrbana, Illinois 61801 USAdeg@illinois.edu

MotivationEngineers often relish technical work.Don’t necessarily like to communicate it: Cool Hand Luke.Need to understand Why we don’t like to write or present.Key differences between English/Rhetoric class & BizTech writing/presenting.Mission nearly impossible: Writing & presenting complex, but can quickly survey success keys.Paul Newman (1925-2008)

RoadmapWriting process:Prime directive of writing.Freewriting for loosening writer’s block.Quickplanning as opposed to full outlines.Key difference & structures of BizTech writing: B-P-R: Background, purpose, roadmap.Lists & amplification.Elements of a BizTech presentation.

Prime Directive of WritingWriting process:How many like to write? Why or why not?Key problem: Endless circle of write and criticize.Prime directive is to just write.Separate writing into phase I, generation, phase II, quickplanning, and phase III, revision. Must practice. How?StarFleet Prime Directive (General Order #1): Don’t interfere with pre-warp cultures.

Modeling Phase I: FreewritingIn Elbow’s Writing with Power freewriting exercise a key.Freewriting = writing without crossing off on anything that comes to mind for fixed interval.Let’s do it for 3 minutes.Rules:No stopping. Repeat nonsense phrase if stuck.No crossing out. Not one word.Direct style freewriting at particular task

Phase II: QuickplanningFull outlines can inhibit good writing.Use quickplanning.Like creating bullet points for a ppt presentation.Do it hierarchically as necessary:For the whole piece.Section by section.Subject to discovery of logic, content, and interrelationship.

Phase III: Cut-and-Paste RevisionJust writing doesn’t create a written piece.Phase III: Cut-and-paste revision.Try it on physical paper first (no computers initially).Steps:Write every other line.On one side of sheet.Use scissors and glue stick.Take directed “freewriting” as raw material.Cut, paste, and interpolate between the lines.Write new paragraphs as necessary.

Key Δ & Structures of BizTech WritingHow is BizTech writing different from LAS writing?Business/technical writers are all busy:Need cues to where they are (roadmaps, titles, key words).May not read everything (elements self-contained).Different readers may read differently (techies vs. CEO).Two key structures to promote effective BizTech reading writing: B-P-R & lists and amplification.

B-P-R: Fundamental Structure of WritingForget freshmen English: No clever essays here.What should I write about? How to start?Every piece, every section need:Background (history & motivation).Purpose (of the piece, section).Roadmap (of the remainder).Army saying: Tell ‘em what you’re going to say, say it, and tell ‘em what you said.

BackgroundSometimes called motivation.The fundamental discontinuity.What is the context of what’s coming? Project history & background, motivation, times, dates, players.But remember, the clock is ticking.

Rhetorical Purpose“The purpose of this report (memo, section, letter, e-mail, whatever) is X.”“In this report we present X.”Say it. Not a mystery novel or freshmen essay.Don’t confuse project purpose with rhetorical purpose. Rhetorical purpose is the purpose of the piece (report, memo, section, whatever).

RoadmapBuild a mental model or map for your reader. Tell them what is next.“In the remainder, we examine X, Y, and Z.”“The remainder of the report examines X, Y, and Z.”If you don’t tell them where you are going, how will they know when they get there?

B-P-R Iterated HierarchicallySame structure used at the beginning of the report.At the beginning of the section.At the beginning of subsections.Less context needed when you are in the middle, but still needed.BizTech reader may not have read previous section.

BizTech Writer’s Friend: Lists & AmplificationLists and amplification.Lists can be bulleted, numbered, either broken out or in line.Use lists a great deal.“In this section we cover the following 3 items:Item 1Item 2Item 3The remainder examines each in more detail.”List them, then amplify each item in sequence.

Elements of a BizTech PresentationTitle, author & affiliationForeword (Motivation)OverviewBodySummary and conclusions

Titles as an Important ElementIs title a separate element?First element seen or heard.Decision to attend may be based on title alone.Should be informative and interest-provoking.A Comparative Analysis of Selection Methods in Genetic AlgorithmsGenetic Algorithms, Noise, and the Sizing of PopulationsA Gentle Introduction to Genetic AlgorithmsSix Ways to GA HappinessDon’t Worry, Be Messy

Foreword or MotivationForeword, not forward: A word at the fore.Sometimes called motivation.Two parts:Background.Rhetorical purpose.

Roadmap or OverviewOverview or Roadmap: laundry list of key topics.Necessary road map for you and audience.Intermediate overview slides helpful in long talks.Foreword + Roadmap = BPR of writing.1921 IL Roadmap

BodyHard to generalize.Writing-like structure and flow.Miller rule for bullets: 7±2 chuck size.Eliminate unnecessary words: Transparency-speak.

Summaries and ConclusionsMuch confusion between summaries and conclusions.Summary: What talk said.Conclusion: How audience should change action or thought as a result of what talk said.Recommendation: Action conclusion.

SummaryPerfection as enemy of good BizTech writing/presenting. 3 phase approach:Freewriting as practice to loosen pens.Quickplanning to get the flow.Cut-and-paste revisionKey difference: Busy people BPR and lists5 Elements of a presentation.

Bottom LineBizTech seems daunting:Separate writing from revision: creative key.Quickplan, don’t overplan.Know that your reader/listener is busy: provide devices like BPR and lists as aids to navigation.Master the elements of a presentation.Can be a master engineering communicator, to benefit of your work and career.