I’m a sucker for headlines with numbers in them—you know, like “Five Reasons the iPad will Take Over the World” or ‘The 10 Phoniest Movie Monsters of All Time.” So I read with interest “Seven Marketable Skills that Most Technical Writers Have,” by Laura Spencer, on the blog ihearttechnicalwriting.com. To summarize, her list is:
- Interview skills
- Teamwork
- Detail orientation
- Ability to meet deadlines
- Peer management
- Ability to learn quickly
- Communication skills
As it happens, I was part of a workshop earlier this month in which a small group of experts talked about the six certification areas of practice
and the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) you need to perform competently in them. And these skills certainly came up! I take Laura’s piece as an affirmation that we’re on the right track.
Steven Jong 