Best practices in labeling

We just had our Reading Week. The first year that I was in school, I didn’t know that Reading Week refers to spring break. I was confused because I thought students were expected to do some readings the whole week. It felt like the person who thought of that name used the wrong label.

There are a lot of other things that use confusing or incorrect labels. Maybe some us think that we can label anything we want as long as we remember afterwards what we called it. Yes, you can do that but there are best practices that we can follow, which will help our audience and us. Here are some reasons of the best practices in labelling. 

• Labels should provide information. At a glance, we should be able to identify what is in it for us in files, bottle or anything that was labeled.
• Labels should be concise. A few words will be enough to describe your item or file.
• Labels should not be misleading. It’s nice to play jokes sometimes but labels are the worst to use as jokes. I remembered that there was an instance in the Philippines where a student died because he accidentally drank a chemical from a mineral water bottle.

Labels are important. We should always try to use the best label for anything. Just compare those things to children. Parents will never think naming their child with an ugly or confusing name.

Word count: 239 words

Changing the manuals

No one reads manuals. Maybe there are some who read manuals; however, most of us try out different ways to know something before actually using a manual.

Since a lot of new technologies have similar interface, we experience very little learning curve. We are less scared to try out things on our own. We’ve become aware that there is a very small chance that we’ll break the computer if we did something wrong. The result is there is even lesser number of people who will read the manual. Does it mean we will lose our jobs as technical writers? I don’t think so. Nowadays, manuals are no longer limited to the booklets that we receive with our products. A great example is the video game industry. Most video games incorporate their manuals into the actual game. Instead of having a thick book of manual showing gamers how to use all their characters’ powers, they usually get a training level at the start of the game, where they can learn all of these.

Since most of the users are becoming more interactive, as technical communicators we need to find out more ways to make them more involved in their learning.

Word count: 199

Ally Training

Diversity goes beyond accepting other races. Diversity involves inclusion of other groups and allowing them to live in a community with respect. Today, I joined the Ally Training, where I learned more about the LGBTT*. Through the seminar, I gained more knowledge about the terms that are being used to refer to various identities; however, what struck me most is that it is more than identifying them in the society. It is all about recognizing that all of us have our own preference and respecting other people's preference. Just because someone is not heterosexual doesn’t mean that you should call them names or stereotype them.

Here are the top three things that I learned when I went to the training.

1. Everyone needs acceptance and everyone should accept other people regardless of their sexual preference.
2. We should not tolerate discrimination. All of us should take action. When we see, hear or feel that there is discrimination, we should stand up and make it known that is not acceptable.
3. We don’t have to argue with anyone to get our message across. If a person blurts out a derogatory remark, we can ask what he or she means by their comment.

Everyone deserves to feel safe. Everyone is responsible in creating safe places.

Word Count: 214

Less is more

A lot of people are experiencing writer's block. This would be a problem especially if you need to meet a deadline. On the other hand, most of the writers probably have written something that they know very well and they are passionate about. If you've experienced both, you'll probably notice that when you are passionate about something, you are able to write more information. Sometimes this may feel like wanting to pour out everything you know and transform it into a writing masterpiece.

When I went into the Technical Communication program, I realized that like wearing makeup, our piece of writing should also have the philosophy "less is more". It is important that we filter the words that we use. Remove the unnecessary words that often just create confusion. When people say less is more in writing, I always think of being clear and concise. This is applicable in all forms of writing, but I consider it of very high importance when it comes to technical writing. People who read manuals don’t need flowery words. Most of them just need to get their task done.  

Word count: 185


 

Listen

It is true that we sell ourselves through speaking with other people. Knowing how to speak to the public is a very valuable skill that will get us work and create networks. However, we should also remember that listening is just as important as speaking. I find that when I listen before speaking, I get more information about the topic. It helps me

• Avoid redundancy.
You probably experienced being in a seminar, where after the speaker is done with the lecture someone asks a question which was already discussed during the session. Worse is when someone asks the same question, which was just asked a minute ago.

• Prevent myself from being off tangent.
Listening allows you to get all the information you need before you open your mouth. It allows you to organize your thoughts.

• Show respect and gain respect.
By listening, we show that we are interested and we value other people’s opinion. When we show eagerness, we encourage people to also be eager to listen to us.

These are just some of the things we can get from listening. Here is a verse from the Bible that shows the value of listening before speaking.

"He who answers before listening--that is his folly and his shame". -Proverbs 18:13