Student Handbook

Relationship development with clients, both internal and external, is key when creating or editing documentation. People have different perspectives when it comes to defining a document's purpose.

One of the things that I really enjoy is the relationship building process that comes with exploring and discovering the client’s communication needs.

Such was the case with the Student Handbook that I edited in collaboration with the leadership of my son’s private school. The original document was rife with organizational and formatting errors, inconsistent tone, and had low usability for its audience.

To address these shortcomings, I started by making a list of suggested improvements to recurring errors at the global, which is the full document, and local – line by line – levels before making any changes the document. I then shared that list with them via an Editing Proposal.

Approaching the client this way acts as a good faith offering by letting them know that you understand they’re making the final decision on what is changed and that they’re in control.

As an editor, this is important because it helps to free the author from any feeling of being wronged or insufficient when an edit is suggested. That simple consideration ensures effective changes are made to the document.

When the handbook was edited and the changes were made, my client was amazed at how much easier it was to use and how much better it looked. They thanked me for my work and asked me if I’d be willing to edit some of their other documents as well.

Relationship building through technical communication tools, such as editing, builds trust and rapport with clients and can ultimately lead to repeat or additional work.