saying thank you. saying i'm sorry

Saying Thank You. Saying I'm Sorry.

When TechComm goes all wrong Viqui Dill

TechComm Leader at American WoodmarkSenior STC Member

STC New England InterChangeSTC Summit 2015

3/25/2015 1| @viqui_dill | Saying Thank You. Saying I’m Sorry. | #InterChangeNE #TechComm #STCorg |

Icebreaker

• Who is this? What did she do?

• Did you ever make a big public mistake? What did you do to make it right?

http://www.ted.com/talks/monica_lewinsky_the_price_of_shame


http://www.ted.com/talks/monica_lewinsky_the_price_of_shame

Expectations for today


Tech rules our lives

• Tech rules our lives

• Tech can be big

• Tech can be fragile

– When technical things go wrong, they often go wrong in big, public ways

– System users deserve an apology

– System users deserve a sincere gesture of thanks for risking a continued relationship


Hooray for #TechComm

• The voice of a technical organization

– Training

• “I’m sorry it’s hard to do right.”

– Online help

• “I’m sorry it’s confusing.”

– Release notes

• “I’m sorry it was broken.”

http://blog.wordbank.com/2011/12/23/best-404s-of-2011/



Hooray for #TechComm

• The voice of a technical organization

– Training

• “I’m sorry it’s hard to do right.”

– Online help

• “I’m sorry it’s confusing.”

– Release notes

• “I’m sorry it was broken.”




It’s all about the other guy

• Active listening

– Don’t interrupt

– Don’t make excuses

– Do make eye contact when you can

– Do acknowledge the problem


Problems with the doc?

• Prompt correction of the problem

• Gushing thanks for the feedback

• At least somebody is reading it

3/25/2015 | @viqui_dill | Saying Thank You. Saying I’m Sorry. | #InterChangeNE #TechComm #STCorg | 9

Problems with the system

• List the problems fixed – Order billing system failed to enable free shipping

on replacement parts

– Contacts screen not enabled for international phone numbers

• Stress the focus on quality

• Apologize for the inconvenience

• Make financial or other amends

• Express thanks for the business relationship


The “I” Message

• State how you feel (the message relationship or meaning)– “I feel _________________________.

• State the content of your message– because _______________________

– which resulted in ________________________.

– What I want is __________________________.”

http://americanwoodmark.com/

3/25/2015 | @viqui_dill | Saying Thank You. Saying I’m Sorry. | #InterChangeNE #TechComm #STCorg | 11

http://americanwoodmark.com/

True Confessions

• I’m a screw up survivor!

• I learned!

• I made amends for the whole organization. – Admit we caused a problem

– Thank the folks for their patience with us while we worked out a solution

– Give a concrete token of our appreciation, and make it an awesome stress-relief toy!


https://viquidill.wordpress.com/2013/05/17/thank-you-note/

https://viquidill.wordpress.com/2013/05/17/thank-you-note/

9-1-1 Dispatch

• What’s the worst thing a phone system can do? – Call the cops

– Scare the callers

– Upset the dispatcher

• My job: check up on 368 phone users – Acknowledge the problem

– Thank them for their patience

– Win back their trust


Who moved my cheese?

• Who moved my cheese?

– Give the stretchy mice and cheese to clients and teammates when you've changed processes, interfaces, or objectives over and over.

– Thank them for being like the second mouse who didn't freak out when the cheese moved.

– Make it public!

http://www.officeplayground.com/Stretchy-Mice-and-Cheese-P279.aspx



Who moved my cheese?

• Who moved my cheese?

– Give the stretchy mice and cheese to clients and teammates when you've changed processes, interfaces, or objectives over and over.

– Thank them for being like the second mouse who didn't freak out when the cheese moved.

– Make it public!




I dropped the ball

• Gamification added to a training program

• Moved to another program, just before #STC14

• I did not communicate well what was left to do

• I did not follow through


When pigs fly

• Flying pig– Give the flying pig to clients and teammates who

are especially committed, even in times of conflict.

– Tell the Agile story about the pig and the chicken.

http://www.officeplayground.com/Slingshot-Flying-Pig-P1200.aspx

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chicken_and_the_Pig


http://www.officeplayground.com/Slingshot-Flying-Pig-P1200.aspx

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chicken_and_the_Pig

I was kicked off the team

• Oh dear, I’m not on the team

– Suddenly, I’m not invited to team meetings

– When I found software bugs, nobody was happy about it

– My test data was overwritten

– Project schedules included planned overtime


Roses are red

• Rose above it

– Give the solar rose toy when a teammate has persevered through a tough season.

– This works great when someone is willing to come to work when they're sick with something non-contagious like stress related migraines or digestive trouble.

http://www.officeplayground.com/Solar-Dancing-Flower-Rose-P2362.aspx



Roses are red

• Rose above it

– Give the solar rose toy when a teammate has persevered through a tough season.

– This works great when someone is willing to come to work when they're sick with something non-contagious like stress related migraines or digestive trouble.




I changed the plan

• The project scope and objectives changed

– Everything had to be redone

– With the same deadline

– In a high exposure project

– Impacting all 3,000 employees


Metamorphosis

• Butterfly– Give the butterfly solar toy

when a project starts out ugly and then turns beautiful after a dormant season.

– The metamorphosis message will not be lost with this token of thanks.

http://www.officeplayground.com/Solar-Power-Motion-Toy-Dancing-Butterfly-P6066.aspx


http://www.officeplayground.com/Solar-Power-Motion-Toy-Dancing-Butterfly-P6066.aspx

I love my teammates

• We did our best

– Uncontrollable externals

– Unforeseen results

– Pulled together

– Without scapegoating


Slay the dragon

• Dragon– Give the dragon squeeze toy

when someone helps you work through a particularly tough situation, like slaying a dragon.

– Users who are willing to participate in early usability or beta tests will appreciate the metaphor.

http://www.officeplayground.com/Poppin-Peepers-Dragon-P5741.aspx



Slay the dragon

• Dragon– Give the dragon squeeze toy

when someone helps you work through a particularly tough situation, like slaying a dragon.

– Users who are willing to participate in early usability or beta tests will appreciate the metaphor.




I’m sorry. Here’s proof.

• People love a heartfelt apology

• People love toys

– By combining the two, Technical Communicators will be able to rebuild relationships with customers in a concrete, humorous way


Share your story


Questions?


Did we meet your expectations?


Connect with me

• Bio http://wdcb.stcwdc.org/about-us/chapter-bios/dill-bio/

• Blog https://viquidill.wordpress.com/

• [email protected]

• @viqui_dillhttps://twitter.com/viqui_dill

• Linked Inhttp://www.linkedin.com/pub/viqui-dill

• Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/viqui.dill


http://wdcb.stcwdc.org/about-us/chapter-bios/dill-bio/

https://viquidill.wordpress.com/

mailto:[email protected]

https://twitter.com/viqui_dill

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/viqui-dill/15/79/7a5

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saying thank you. saying i'm sorry

Leadership & Management

technical things

release notesim sorry

online helpim sorry

stcorg technical communicators

big tech

apologysystem users

public ways system users

stcorg tech rules