Teaching Through Parallels

We understand things in life through drawing parallels. Taking a difficult subject and translating it into terms we find a bit more intriguing, allowing us to grasp the meaning of the technical side of things. This is true both for writing and creating blogs, as it is to understanding the intricacies of technical writing. I've been in the tech comm field for about three years now. Comparatively, I am on the cusp of the industry. A fly on the wall of this ever evolving saga. While to some this may seem daunting, a freshman walking through the halls of life without the slightest clue to the pitfalls and trap doors that lie ahead. But in the field of technical communication, the value of a fresh mind untouched by the stigmas of an ever evolving industry could be more valuable and innovative than a seasoned veteran.

So how do we come to understand the vastness of this industry, how do we come to synthesize even a small portion and apply it to our respective fields? Well my friends the answer is that we take Zumba classes... Yes, Zumba. At least according to Tom Johnson, editor of 'I'd rather be writing'. Sarah Madox uses the same technique in her blog 'Ffeathers', comparing chocolate to planning a doc print. An effective way of teaching for sure, but back to Zumba! Tom uses Zumba to parallel facets of tech comm. So if I sweat in a room dancing to upbeat Latin music suddenly I will understand the needs of my audience, or how to better relay a message to? Well no, at best you will lose a few inches of the waist and be thoroughly prepared to battle if a New York city style flash mob suddenly ensued in your presence. The point is that drawing parallels is an important tool in blog writing, as it is in fields like technical communication. 

The truth is methods like these or writing styles such as the ones used in help.scribe using terms like 'Man versus Machine' are all just little tools in helping us digest information more effectively, and dare I say enjoyably. In short as we venture further down the rabbit hole in learning tech comm we need the simplicity of Zumba to truly understand what tech comm is really about.

~AB~

Sources:
http://idratherbewriting.com/
http://ffeathers.wordpress.com/ 
http://www.helpscribe.com/