This represents a sample selection from a communications presentation I created and delivered to various groups of the SMART training and professional services team. I delivered a tailored version of this presentation to every new member of the team during their initial on-boarding.
The aim of the presentation was to introduce SMART’s communication guidelines and the editing process for the training and professional services team.
The writing experience of the audiences for the presentation varied quite a bit, so the intent was to create a presentation that is not only engaging and relevant, but also preeminently accessible.
This slide provides an overview of the topics that I cover in the presentation. I begin with discussion topics to activate the learners and also demonstrate the value of what they will learn in the presentation.
This slide outlines the basic editing process when creating training materials for the SMART professional services team. The visual representation of the different roles and the workflow through the various steps simplifies the complexity of the process for new team members and those in other groups, leading to better team understanding and integration.
This slide illustrates the levels of support resources available for anyone producing communications on behalf of SMART. The globe icons represent interactive links to these resources, so that I can demonstrate how to use and navigate them directly from the presentation.
This slide introduces the learners to the concept of brand "genericide" and the main reasons why maintaining and defending a brand is important in today's marketplace. I found that this section of the presentation usually received a very positive response from the learners as they enjoyed learning about and discussing real-world examples.
With this slide, we discuss the various elements of SMART product names and how to treat them in text. A volunteer learner identifies the elements by moving them to the appropriate colored spaces on the screen. Each element is color-coded to increase visual retention. The lower-right corner includes an attachment to the official products list so that the learners can review all the product names directly from the presentation.
The audiences for the presentation varied from technical writers to training specialists, from instructional technologists to training operations staff, so this part of the presentation focuses on general tips for aligning a variety of communications to SMART brand standards. Again, the slide includes an attachment to the full brand guidelines in the lower-right corner for immediate review.
This slide illustrates one of the most important elements of SMART’s style for written communications, and some best practices that apply for most types of professional writing. Learners work together to revise the first passage before revealing the revised passage below.
This slide emphasizes the importance of technical accuracy in writing. In this software example, learners use appropriate terminology to describe interface items.
Lists and procedures are major components of technical and instructional writing. These best practices ensure that lists and procedures are clear, consistent and reduce the cognitive load for the reader.
Instructional writing often involves terminology that can be confusing, depending on the context. This slide clearly defines some commonly-used terms.
