STC 2014; The Reluctant Subject Matter Expert

For many of us, our success as professional communicators depends on how successfully we work with

SMEs.

1 The Reluctant SME; © 2014 Elisa Sawyer,

MS and Ann Marie Queeney

The ideas in this presenta-on are based on wri-ng techniques,

however, they are valid for use in other

professions.



Always remember: ProducGve relaGonships with SMEs

don’t happen by accident.



The acquisiGon of informaGon is managed for some writers.



Situa-on normal in some departments and companies:

Providing informaGon to the tech writer is low priority.

(But, what’s up with that?)



With shy and elusive SMEs, we find that their bad behaviors oFen fall

into two categories:

• Avoidance • Antagonism



We resort to hun-ng SMEs.



SME hunGng by tech writers tends to fall into three categories:

•  Stalking • Using clever lures to draw them into traps

• Making offers they can’t refuse



What if you could get SMEs to seek you out in order to give you info?

! I’d die of surprise. ! I wouldn’t know what to do with all the Gme I’d be saving.

! I’d know for certain that I was dreaming.



OK, let’s dream about some reali-es:

•  Most people like to talk shop.

•  Most people like to tell their stories.

•  Good storytellers always have audiences. •  Almost everyone wants to be an author.



Here’s a key convenient truth:

Almost no one wants to do the hard work of wri-ng, and that’s

where we’re the experts.

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The Reluctant SME; © 2014 Elisa Sawyer, MS and Ann Marie Queeney

SME Hunter vs. Knowledge Partner

SME hunter Knowledge partner

Short-‐term focus: Concerned with immediate project.

Long-‐term focus: Builds knowledge base for later projects and expands your influence.

Quick fixes: Driven by necessity, results can be uneven.

Able to address problems at their source: results are higher in quality.

Seen by others as necessary evil, annoyance, obstacle, or roadblock.

Seen by other as a contributor and part of the team.

Not integrated into project. Fully integrated into project.

Ofen excluded. Ofen invited and included.



The magic elixir:

We’ve got story!

The art and craf of wriGng gives us an amazingly powerful set of tools…



We writers are astute observers.

Within our roles as writers, we make careful observaGons with respect to:

• Sejngs

• Characters • Dramas



Working as knowledge partners, we:

•  Set the stage for collaboraGon. •  IdenGfy SME “red flag” behavior and deflect their pull into unproducGve dramas.

•  Realize that we control our own acGons and not those of others.

•  Respect others: listen carefully to their stories, show appropriate empathy, and stay flexible.

•  Recognize that communicaGon skills are useful beyond the page and use them to build mutually beneficial relaGonships.



Observe your work sejng. Ques-ons about your company culture

to answer and revisit occasionally:

•  Is the work environment informal or formal? •  Is the power structure hierarchical or is power shared, implicitly or explicitly?

•  What are the spoken/unspoken rules?

•  Are there hidden agendas?



SME roles (character) within sejng

An SME responds as a character within a seNng. Scop Myer’s five character archetypes:

Protagonist Nemesis Apractor Mentor Trickster

How do you see your SME? How does your SME see you?



An essenGal “how to” for creaGng drama:

What a character wants is at odds with what they need.

So, how do we reduce office drama?



Dealing with unintenGonal sabotage

•  Recognize when our SMEs’ well-‐intenGoned efforts cause problems.

•  Recognize when our own well-‐intenGoned efforts cause problems.

You can usually get your project back on track aFer an incident of uninten-onal sabotage.



More on unintenGonal sabotage

•  Special case: the talented SME with character flaws

•  Special case: when you as a writer discover that a situaGon is pushing you beyond your limits



While most sabotage is unintenGonal, occasionally it’s

not…



Expanding on strengths, both ours and others:

We can make everyone look beper.



Technology

STC 2014; The Reluctant Subject Matter Expert