At PASS Data Community Summit 2023, Tonie Huizer and Tony Davis joined forces to deliver a one-hour session all about how to get started with sharing your technical knowledge and experience with others, whether by publishing an article, getting up on stage at a conference, or delivering a training session at work. The presenters offer a rare author-editor insight into the creative process from start to finish. They demonstrate simple techniques and tools that will help you transform a vague idea of what you ‘could’ write or speak about, into an article or presentation that has ‘the magic’, amplifying its impact on your audience.

The session was popular, and they will present an updated and enhanced version of it this year at PASS Summit 2024, so here’s a preview of what you can expect! And even if you can’t attend their session, this preview is packed with some good advice to get you started!

Hang around to the end of the post for another kind of preview that is easier to…let’s say…watch.

The preview

The world of IT would speed up if more tech professionals appreciated the need for good tech communication skills to complement their practical knowledge. How often have you struggled through poorly written technical documentation? Conversely, how often have you struggled, as the author, to get your thoughts across concisely? Whether it’s a tech article, conference abstract or a project proposal, success relies not just on our technical knowledge but also our ability to present complex technical ideas, and their value, simply and precisely. How we share our knowledge determines the impact we make.

However, finding the best way to communicate our ideas is a creative process and not one most tech professionals find easy. So how do we make it simpler? Tonie and Tony explain the content creation process in four steps: Get Motivated, Get Started, Get Sharp and Deliver. Structuring it in this way allows for a greater understanding of how to tackle the stumbling blocks you will encounter along the way.

1. Get motivated – emphasising the reasons why you should share your knowledge.

Sometimes sharing what you know will get someone past a small problem or save them a bit of time. Occasionally though, your content will reach the right person at the right time and have a more profound impact. Even if you have no ambitions to get up on stage or publish an article, you’ll find yourself getting better at communicating with team members at work, and that you can explain your ideas more clearly to managers. When knowledge sharing becomes a habit, many tech professionals find it leads to professional development and better career opportunities.

2. Get started – overcoming barriers to knowledge sharing.

Many of us experience moments of self-doubt that can become ‘blockers’ to knowledge sharing. Perhaps you feel that you are not an expert in the topic, or doubt that our contribution will be unique or “interesting enough”. The presenters emphasize that you’re not trying to own the conversation, but you can be a valuable part of it, if you have passion and perseverance, hard-won knowledge of what a good technical solution looks like, or just a different way to help people understand a process or get past a problem.

Language barriers to knowledge sharing can be overcome with AI and translation tools. ‘Stage fright’ or ‘writers block’ can be conquered through practice, and by using simple techniques that will give your confidence in your idea and ability to explain it simply to people.

This leads us nicely to…

3. Get Sharp – practical techniques to help you through the creative process.

Even when you have the motivation and have cast aside doubts, you still may find content creation a struggle. If you haven’t pinned down your idea, or fully understood who it needs to reach and why they will care, then writing or presenting can feel like the hardest of all skills.

No two creative strategies are the same, and the presenters each demonstrate their own approach, from Tony’s structured process of “idea exploration” to Tonie’s more free-flowing style that takes inspiration from visual imagery, peer conversations and AI.

These strategies share the common goal of allowing you to ‘discover’ your idea, to walk around in the shoes of the target audience, understand what information they most need from you and why. From this you start to see what story you need to tell and how you might tell it and can develop a simple structure that will allow to explain your ideas in clear and compelling way that anyone can follow.

4. Deliver – bring your ideas to life

You understand and have confidence in your idea. You know what story you want to tell, who needs to hear it and why. Now it’s time to deliver. There are simple rules of technical communication that will guide you through, whether you’re writing an article, or preparing a conference session.

The structure you developed establishes your logical train of thought. First, capture your audience’s attention quickly and then, as you produce the content, always remember your overarching goal and the perspective of your audience. Use this to answer questions like: do they really need to know this? Is there a simpler way to describe it? There should be no ego involved: be open to different and perhaps better ways to explain and “maximize the reach” of your ideas.

Finally, keep your words simple. Favor standard, conversational English over use of hyperbole, buzzwords and colloquial phrases that will defeat those who have English as a second language. Use precise, unambiguous technical terms in place of vague talk of scenarios and environments.

The result will be content that tells your ‘story’ simply, logically and clearly and gives your audience the maximum benefit from the knowledge and experience that you want to share with them.

The exhortation

Tonie Huizer and Tony Davis will present their session, ‘Amplify your Experience: How to Start Writing and Speaking’ at PASS Data Community Summit 2024 (November 4-8 in Seattle, Washington). Register now!

The hinted at, extra preview

Since you have come this far, as promised…the best preview is last year’s session. Tony Davis wasn’t able to show up on person, but he and Tonie still delivered a great session that will hopefully inspire you to share your experience, and go to the PASS Summit this year and catch their session and a host of others including plenty of technical and professional development sessions: