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Visual Communication and Design, Now with Audio!

Good-looking information just works better.

Podcast: Planning and Storyboarding

Is it worth spending the time it takes to sketch out graphical ideas in advance, or is it better to...

Date: 03/11/2010

Podcast: Pictograms, simplicity, and complexity

There’s often a conflict between conveying information quickly and conveying it effectively. How...

Date: 02/26/2010

Podcast: Minimalism in writing and presentation

The concepts behind Minimalism have been an accepted part of good technical writing and presentation...

Date: 02/05/2010

Interview: Finding the right graphic design

Geetesh Bajaj, PowerPoint MVP, designs and sells high-quality PowerPoint templates on his site,...

Date: 01/25/2010

Learn by doing: Example of using games to teach software

In my last post, I talked about how I believe that appealing to multiple learning styles is the key...

Date: 01/19/2010

Screencasts ARE documentation

We came across a blog post, written by a technical writer, who describes her personal experiences...

Date: 01/18/2010

Interview: Creating attractive PowerPoint presentations

Geetesh Bajaj, PowerPoint MVP, designs and sells high-quality PowerPoint templates on his Internet...

Date: 01/18/2010

Podcast: Visual efficiency in design and in video demos

Visual efficiency means creating graphical elements and placing them to take advantage of the way...

Date: 01/14/2010

30-second video tips on YouTube

If you didn’t want to log into Facebook to see the video tips, they’re now on YouTube. Please leave...

Date: 01/12/2010

Interview: Designing PowerPoint templates and images

Geetesh Bajaj, PowerPoint MVP, designs and sells high-quality PowerPoint templates on his Internet...

Date: 01/11/2010

Learn by watching 30-second video tips on Facebook

Part animated comic strip, part screencast, these short videos are designed to help you learn Visio...

Date: 01/04/2010

Clarity Episode 4: Website map in exchange for information

A chance encounter at a coffee shop leads Clarity to a new case and a possible lead for information....

Date: 12/14/2009

Clarity Episode 3: Network diagrams are no sweat

A nervous client with a tight deadline needs to document his network, fast. Harrison Clarity applies...

Date: 12/11/2009

Podcast: Creating screencasts as a narrative series

What’s the best way to create a screencast that teaches people how to do something? Well, we don’t...

Date: 12/08/2009

Clarity Episode 2: From Excel spreadsheet to Visio org chart

Harrison Clarity, visualizer-for-hire and Visio master, demonstrates how to convert data from an...

Date: 12/08/2009

Matching message and presentation … with PowerPoint 2010

This presentation, which combines some of the new features in PowerPoint 2010 as well as a tasteful...

Date: 12/07/2009

Podcast: Matching visuals and presentation style to your information

Information is communicated not only by words in a message, but also in the way the message looks...

Date: 11/20/2009

Create an office layout? Let Clarity show you how

Check out the first episode in our series that demonstrates the “film noir” side of Visio (and some...

Date: 11/17/2009

Podcast: Deconstructing a new video series – what works and what doesn’t?

This episode captures a meeting where two writers and their manager deconstruct their new video...

Date: 10/14/2009

Podcast: Office Offline and comics in communication

David Salaguinto joins us to talk about his comic Office Offline. David creates Office Offline to...

Date: 09/29/2009

Podcast: Is familiarity or novelty a better strategy in visual design?

People get bored of seeing the same old things all the time. But they also don’t like things that...

Date: 08/28/2009

TC4D: Make Better Videos with Less Rework by Using Storyboards

Storyboards help you plan your video shot by shot. That way, you can make sure your video is at...

Date: 08/26/2009

Podcast: Should I think about design or is clear communication enough?

When you create a document or a presentation, is the information all that’s important? Is it worth...

Date: 08/07/2009

Podcast: Video in Social Media

Video has become an integral part of social media. Especially for younger people who are growing up...

Date: 07/24/2009

Podcast: Using Visual Space Dynamically

Visuals are usually created with the display space in mind. If the display area is a certain size,...

Date: 07/10/2009

Podcast: Office Casual and the success of directness

Office Casual is one of the most successful video series created by Microsoft content producers....

Date: 06/30/2009

TC4D: Guiding viewers through complex information

Complex information is usually easier to understand when it’s presented in a graphic format, such as...

Date: 06/22/2009

Podcast: Eye candy and aesthetics make things work better

Research has indicated that attractive things are easier to use and work better than purely...

Date: 06/16/2009

TC4D: Preparing for a media-centered future

Well, the title of the presentation I saw was "Preparing for a Media-Centered Future", but the...

Date: 06/15/2009

TC4D: Technical Communication in the 4th Dimension

TC4D is my video blog about technical communication in the fourth dimension. In episode 1, I talk...

Date: 06/08/2009

Podcast: Leading visual content teams

Where does Jonathan want to take content for the visual tools PowerPoint, Office Graphics, and Visio...

Date: 06/02/2009

Podcast: Visual literacy and illiteracy

Harry, Jonathan, Joy, and Eric talk about what visual literacy might mean and whether there is such...

Date: 05/18/2009

Podcast: Montage and visual juxtaposition

Harry, Jonathan, Joy, and Eric talk about theories of montage and relating images through sequence....

Date: 05/04/2009

Multimedia Technical Communication

I've been creating a lot of multimedia content since I finished the bulk of editing for my core,...

Date: 09/11/2008

Prioritizing for the Reader

Download the episodeDuration 3:11Size 2.5 MB Sometimes there are a lot of little notes that can be...

Date: 08/13/2007

New Technical Writers with Mike Pope

Download the episodeDuration 20 minutesSize 14 MB Mike Pope, a technical editor with ASP.NET, and I...

Date: 08/02/2007

Filling in the Story

Even though I really like concise writing, sometimes the whole story has to be told. Download this...

Date: 07/24/2007

The IM Model of Tech Writing

Thoughts about highly-targeted information delivery. Download this episodeDuration 2:14Size 2.0 MB...

Date: 07/17/2007

STC Conference Springboard Session: Multimedia Content

I'll be hosting a springboard session at the STC conference next week. Springboard sessions are...

Date: 05/11/2007

How I expanded my concept of the technical editing role

I've been having a short discussion with Tom Johnson at I'd rather be writing about the new format...

Date: 02/23/2007

Writing a Technical Book

A writer who used to be on the Visual Studio Tools for Office team, Kathleen McGrath, is finishing...

Date: 10/12/2006

A Writer's Thoughts about Technical Writing, Part 2

I have recorded episodes with two of the writers on the VSTO UE team (McLean and Norm), and here is...

Date: 10/01/2006

When Writers Make Mistakes

If you take on projects outside of your basic job description, chances are some of them won't work...

Date: 09/08/2006

Going into the Field

Writers can increase the value of their documentation by visiting customers where the customers work...

Date: 08/29/2006

Writing the First Draft, Part 1

I got a great request from John in a comment. He suggested blogging about how technical writers...

Date: 08/22/2006

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