Business Lessons, Italian Style  

Martin shares the intercultural tips and tricks he has learned during his thirteen years of working in Italy, and discusses how they contrast with his business experiences in America.

Martin, Brian. Intercom (2006). Articles>Collaboration>Regional>Italy

Business Plans Build Good Business  

Developing a business plan—without it, your independent practice will flounder.

Frick, Elizabeth G. 'Bette'. Intercom (2004). Careers>Management>Planning>Business Communication

Business Reports that Demand Attention  

Walinskas offers tips for improving business reports.

Walinskas, Karl. Intercom (2001). Articles>Writing>Reports

Business Web Sites for the Self-Employed  

Drawing on information provided by several self-employed technical communicators, Frick offers advice on how to design and develop a business Web site.

Frick, Elizabeth A. 'Betsy'. Intercom (2002). Design>Web Design

Business Web Sites for the Self-Employed: Part Two  

What does it take to get a Web site running on the Internet? When you have a site that is ready for some real-life testing, you are ready to put the site up. Publishing a Web site is a three-step process: getting a domain name, choosing a host, and posting the site.

Fugate, Alice E. And Elizabeth A. 'Betsy' Frick. Intercom (2003). Careers>Freelance>Web Design

A California Yankee in Raj Jahan's Country  

Ames shares anecdotes and impressions of the cultural and communication differences she observed while in Hyderabad, India, to speak at a conference for STC members. She outlines growing changes in India's IT and technical communication industries.

Ames, Andrea L. Intercom (2006). Articles>TC>Regional>India

Can a Manual Entertain?  

MacDonald analyzes the success of irreverent software manuals such as the 'For Dummies' and 'Complete Idiot's' series and suggests ways writers of traditional technical manuals can make their own work more enjoyable to read.

MacDonald, Matthew P. Intercom (2001). Articles>Documentation>Writing>Technical Writing

Capturing Feedback: Building a Tighter Net  

Describes how to use Microsoft FrontPage and Access to build a system for organizing and retrieving feedback from reviewers. The article is intended for those with some experience with Web and database design.

Shoesmith, Kevin. Intercom (2001). Design>Content Management>Web Design>Microsoft Access

Card Sorting: An Inexpensive and Practical Usability Technique  

Card sorting is often inexpensive, quick, and easy. Learn when to use this method and how to perform a card sort of your own within your company.

Kaufman, Joshua. Intercom (2006). Articles>Usability>Methods>Card Sorting

The Care and Feeding of Your Customers  

Fugate discusses how self-employed technical communicators can maintain long-term relationships with multiple clients while still catering to their current customers.

Fugate, Alice E. Intercom (2001). Careers>Freelance

Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)  

Discusses the history, purpose, and limitations of Cascading Style Sheets.

Williams, Jocelyn Crump. Intercom (2004). Design>Web Design>CSS

CD-ROM Production: A Primer  

Luongo describes how technical communicators can produce their own CD-ROMs.

Luongo, Al. Intercom (2000). Design>Multimedia>CD ROM

Cell Phone Etiquette  

Lists fifteen rules for conscientious cell phone usage.

Robart, Kay. Intercom (2001). Careers>Workplace>Etiquette

Change Your Goal, Extend Your Role  

The author suggests expanding your role as a technical communicator to enhance software usability by creating better user interface labels and application messages. Henry bases his suggestions on an integrated user-centered information design (UCID) approach driven by product usability. He explains UCID, describes how to prepare for a new role as a 'designer of product usability,' and shows how to effectively design labels and develop application messages.

Henry, Pradeep. Intercom (2000). Design>User Interface>Usability

Cheating the Quality Triangle  

Hart discusses ways that technical communicators can simultaneously improve the quality of their documentation, increase the speed with which it is produced, and lessen the costs of producing it.

Hart, Geoffrey J.S. Intercom (2001). Articles>Documentation>Quality

Choosing Understandable Folder Labels  

Improve your department's messy folder structure by following Kratts' advice on choosing meaningful folder names.

Kratts, Aimee. Intercom (2004). Design>Usability

Classroom Talk: Part II  

Want tips for organizing your first class, handling small groups, and facilitating large group discussion? Campbell's column provides useful tips.

Campbell, Alexa. Intercom (2006). Articles>Education

Clean Up Your Act with XHTML  

Describes how elements and attributes are rendered in XHTML.

McLaughlin, Douglas J. Intercom (2000). Design>Web Design>XHTML

Closing the Content Gap: Converging Authoring and Translation  

As companies strive to improve themselves by rethinking their global content strategies and redesigning these for the new world of continuous and multilingual deployment, they must unify their authoring and translation processes--not an easy task. Fenstermacher explains why authors and translators should work to close the content gap that often exists.

Fenstermacher, Hans E. Intercom (2007). Articles>Content Management>Translation>Localization

Collecting Books about Editing  

Intercom's 'friendly editor' discusses his extensive collection of dictionaries, grammars, and other books of interest.

Bush, Donald W. Intercom (2005). Articles>Editing>Style Guides>Grammar

Come Play! Using Games to Teach, Motivate, and Engage  

What have you done lately to make your training lively, fast-paced, innovative, participative, and imaginative? Baranich and Currie discuss using games in learning and business environments.

Baranich, Karen L. and Cynthia C. Currie . Intercom (1995). Articles>Education>Multimedia

Communicating across Cultures by E-mail: Advice for Consultants  

E-mail styles and preferences can vary from country to country, presenting a possible challenge to effective communication. Read on for how to add a personal touch to your messages so that e-mail becomes an asset to your business.

Lash, Becky. Intercom (2007). Articles>Business Communication>Correspondence>Email

Communication in International Virtual Offices  

Advances in communication technologies mean that colleagues from different parts of the world can work together in the same online space. In some cases, that space is an e-mail exchange, text messaging, or a shared corporate intranet site; in other cases, it is an electronic bulletin board or chat room related to a project. These shared online work spaces—or international virtual offices (IVOs)—provide a level of interaction that can reduce production costs and shorten production cycles.

St. Amant, Kirk R. Intercom (2003). Careers>Telecommuting>Collaboration>Workplace

Conflict Styles and Technical Communicators  

More than most people, technical communicators are aware that if communication is not effective, conflicts can arise. Find out more about the Thomas-Kilmann conflict mode instrument (TKI) and how to identify your predominant conflict style.

Glick-Smith, Judith L. Intercom (2007). Articles>Collaboration>Methods

Consulting: Keeping Up in a Down Economy  

Barker explains how consultants can prepare for survival and long-term growth in the technical communication business, even in the midst of an economic downturn.

Barker, Thomas. Intercom (2003). Careers>Consulting