Did you ever make a big public mistake? What did you do to make it right? This presentation looks at mistakes I have made in Technical Communication and what I did to

1. Saying Thank You. Saying I'm Sorry.
When #TechComm goes all wrong
Viqui Dill
TechComm Leader at American Woodmark
6/19/2015 1| @viqui_dill | Saying Thank You. Saying I’m Sorry. | #TechComm #STC15 |

2. Icebreaker
• Who is this?
What did she do?
• Did you ever make a big public mistake?
What did you do to make it right?
http://www.ted.com/talks/monica_lewinsky_the_price_of_shame
6/19/2015 2| @viqui_dill | Saying Thank You. Saying I’m Sorry. | #TechComm #STC15 |

3. Tech rules our lives
• Tech rules our lives
• Tech can be big
• Tech can be fragile
– When technical things go wrong, they often go
wrong in big, public ways
– System users deserve an apology
– System users deserve a sincere gesture of thanks
for risking a continued relationship
6/19/2015 3| @viqui_dill | Saying Thank You. Saying I’m Sorry. | #TechComm #STC15 |

4. Hooray for #TechComm
• The voice of a technical organization
– Training: “I’m sorry it’s hard to do right.”
– Online help: “I’m sorry it’s confusing.”
– Release notes: “I’m sorry it was broken.”
6/19/2015 4| @viqui_dill | Saying Thank You. Saying I’m Sorry. | #TechComm #STC15 |

5. Problems with the doc?
• Promptly correct the problem
• Give gushing thanks for the feedback
• At least somebody is reading it
– 1 troll = 99 non-trolls
6/19/2015 | @viqui_dill | Saying Thank You. Saying I’m Sorry. | #TechComm #STC15 | 5

6. Problems with the system
• List the problems fixed
– Be specific
• Apologize for the inconvenience
– Express thanks for the business relationship
6/19/2015 6| @viqui_dill | Saying Thank You. Saying I’m Sorry. | #TechComm #STC15 |

7. The “I” Message
• State how you feel (the message relationship
or meaning)
– “I feel _________________________.
• State the content of your message
– because _______________________
– which resulted in ________________________.
– What I want is __________________________.”
http://americanwoodmark.com/
6/19/2015 | @viqui_dill | Saying Thank You. Saying I’m Sorry. | #TechComm #STC15 | 7

8. True Confessions
• I’m a screw up survivor!
• I learned!
• I made amends for the
whole organization.
– Admit we caused a problem
– Thank the folks for their
patience with us while we
worked out a solution
– Give a concrete token of our
appreciation, and make it an
awesome stress-relief toy!
6/19/2015 8| @viqui_dill | Saying Thank You. Saying I’m Sorry. | #TechComm #STC15 |
https://viquidill.wordpress.com/2013/05/17/thank-you-note/

9. 9-1-1 Dispatch
• What’s the worst thing a phone system can
do?
– Call the cops
– Scare the callers
– Upset the dispatcher
• My job: check up on 368 phone users
– Acknowledge the problem
– Thank them for their patience
– Win back their trust
6/19/2015 9| @viqui_dill | Saying Thank You. Saying I’m Sorry. | #TechComm #STC15 |

10. 9-1-1 Dispatch
• What’s the worst thing a phone system can
do?
– Call the cops
– Scare the callers
– Upset the dispatcher
• My job: check up on 368 phone users
– Acknowledge the problem
– Thank them for their patience
– Win back their trust
6/19/2015 10| @viqui_dill | Saying Thank You. Saying I’m Sorry. | #TechComm #STC15 |

11. Who moved my cheese?
• Who moved my cheese?
– Give the stretchy mice and cheese to clients and
teammates when you've changed processes,
interfaces, or objectives over and over.
– Thank them for being like the second mouse who
didn't freak out when the cheese moved.
– Make it public!
http://www.officeplayground.com/Stretchy-Mice-and-Cheese-P279.aspx
6/19/2015 11| @viqui_dill | Saying Thank You. Saying I’m Sorry. | #TechComm #STC15 |

12. Who moved my cheese?
• Who moved my cheese?
– Give the stretchy mice and cheese to clients and
teammates when you've changed processes,
interfaces, or objectives over and over.
– Thank them for being like the second mouse who
didn't freak out when the cheese moved.
– Make it public!
http://www.officeplayground.com/Stretchy-Mice-and-Cheese-P279.aspx
6/19/2015 12| @viqui_dill | Saying Thank You. Saying I’m Sorry. | #TechComm #STC15 |

13. When pigs fly
• I dropped the ball on a project and a teammate
covered for me
• Flying pig
– Give the flying pig to clients and teammates who are
especially committed, even in times of conflict.
– Tell the Agile story about the pig and the chicken.
http://www.officeplayground.com/Slingshot-Flying-Pig-P1200.aspx
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chicken_and_the_Pig
6/19/2015 13| @viqui_dill | Saying Thank You. Saying I’m Sorry. | #TechComm #STC15 |

14. Roses are red
• Documentation gets in the way of
development
– When I found software bugs, nobody was happy
about it
– My test data was overwritten
• Rose above it
– Give the solar rose toy when a teammate has
persevered through a tough season.
http://www.officeplayground.com/Solar-Dancing-Flower-Rose-P2362.aspx
6/19/2015 14| @viqui_dill | Saying Thank You. Saying I’m Sorry. | #TechComm #STC15 |

15. Roses are red
• Rose above it
– Give the solar rose toy when a teammate has
persevered through a tough season.
– This works great when someone is willing to come
to work when they're sick with something non-
contagious like stress related migraines or
digestive trouble.
http://www.officeplayground.com/Solar-Dancing-Flower-Rose-P2362.aspx
6/19/2015 15| @viqui_dill | Saying Thank You. Saying I’m Sorry. | #TechComm #STC15 |

16. Metamorphosis
• I changed the plan
– Redo everything
– Same deadline
• Butterfly
– Give the butterfly solar toy
when a project starts out
ugly and then turns
beautiful after a dormant
season.
http://www.officeplayground.com/Solar-Power-Motion-
Toy-Dancing-Butterfly-P6066.aspx
6/19/2015 16| @viqui_dill | Saying Thank You. Saying I’m Sorry. | #TechComm #STC15 |

17. Slay the dragon
• I love my teammates
• Dragon
– Give the dragon squeeze
toy when someone helps
you work through a
particularly tough
situation, like slaying a
dragon.
http://www.officeplayground.com/Poppin-
Peepers-Dragon-P5741.aspx
6/19/2015 17| @viqui_dill | Saying Thank You. Saying I’m Sorry. | #TechComm #STC15 |

18. Slay the dragon
• Dragon
– Give the dragon squeeze toy
when someone helps you
work through a particularly
tough situation, like slaying
a dragon.
– Users who are willing to
participate in early usability
or beta tests will appreciate
the metaphor.
http://www.officeplayground.com/Poppin-
Peepers-Dragon-P5741.aspx
6/19/2015 18| @viqui_dill | Saying Thank You. Saying I’m Sorry. | #TechComm #STC15 |

19. I’m sorry. Here’s proof.
• People love a heartfelt apology
• People love toys
– By combining the two, Technical Communicators
will be able to rebuild relationships with
customers in a concrete, humorous way
6/19/2015 19| @viqui_dill | Saying Thank You. Saying I’m Sorry. | #TechComm #STC15 |

20. Connect with me
• Bio
http://wdcb.stcwdc.org/about-us/chapter-bios/dill-bio/
• Blog
https://viquidill.wordpress.com/
• Email
social_media@stcwdc.org
• @viqui_dill
https://twitter.com/viqui_dill
• Linked In
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/viqui-dill
• Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/viqui.dill
6/19/2015 20| @viqui_dill | Saying Thank You. Saying I’m Sorry. | #TechComm #STC15 |