atw: Re: Groktalks for tech writers
- From: Craig Hadden <craig_john_hadden@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: atw <austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 9 Jun 2005 14:48:05 +1000 (EST)
Steve wrote:
> What is a groktalk? It is a presentation done
> in 10 minutes
I like the concept. (Mind you, 10 minutes seems a bit
short to convey anything meaningful, but I suppose it
depends on the audience's prior knowledge. And forcing
the presenter to get to the point is a great idea!)
(I reckon _meetings_ would also benefit if everyone
knew in advance that there was a 10-minute time
limit!)
> My question to you lot:
> What concepts do you need to grok?
Us lot's question to you: what on earth (or elsewhere)
does "grok" mean?
(Of course, people generally respond better to
questions if they understand them.)
Initially I took your question to mean "what concepts
do we need to convey to other people", as in a
groktalk, which would be worth considering.
Taking your question to mean "what do we need to
understand", I think we need to understand how people
use written media (be that a printed guide, a website,
or help) and how they use whatever we're documenting.
(In one sense, even a piece of software or a VCR or
other appliance is "written media", in that it has
words written on it.)
I'm not sure how much of use someone could say in 10
minutes about how people use written media, although I
think books like "Don't Make Me Think" are a step in
the right direction.
Regards,
Craig
===== My e-mail address is:
===== craigh(at)attachesoftware(dot)com
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