Hey, Subject Matter Expert! So, You Want to Write a Book.

Good. If you are like 81%* of the population, you want to write a book. You’ve got a lot to say. Maybe you want to write about your life experiences. If you’ve become an expert in your field, perhaps it is your work that moves you to want to tell the world some ways they can do things better because you’ve already figured that out. Whatever your motivation, you have a message to get out to the world and you don’t want to let your experience and knowledge stop with you.

Cheers to you and your willingness to share. Consider this your encouragement. It is hard work. It is not as glamorous as you think so forgo buying yourself a quill. Dig in for the long haul and go for it.

Most people who want to write a book never do. Writing a book is intimidating, like thinking about taking that hike along the entire Appalachian Trial; it’s something that you’ve always wanted to do but it’s overwhelming to think about and plan for. But that journey of a thousand miles really does start with just one step.

Take heart and do some planning. For now, here are five steps to guide you on the path to putting your knowledge, wisdom and experience in writing for posterity. First, breathe and relax. Have confidence. A little organization, dedication and time will get you far. You can do this.

5 Steps to Writing Your Book

1. Organize your thoughts. Put your ideas in order. Make a numbered list. Make a diagram. Use big paper because as you do this exercise, you will remember detail and you’ll need more room. This is your outline. Don’t get too attached to it. After you’ve started writing, or maybe even after you’ve finished your first draft, you may see a better organization. For now, start with the organization that is most logical to you.
2. Schedule writing time. Make it sacred. You need blocks of at least two, preferably four hours, at least once a week. Ideally, you can give it a few hours every morning if you have that kind of space in your life. Take the long view and give yourself a year to complete your manuscript. If you find that the ideas start to flow, you may finish in a few months. Dr. Wayne Dyer finished his first book idea for Your Erroneous Zones in only 14 days! After he knew exactly what he wanted to say, it was just a matter of how fast he could type.
3. Start at the beginning. I like to write an introduction or prologue first simply because it organizes the point and clearly defines the purpose for me at the outset. Often, the introduction changes completely after the book is finished, but again, you have to start somewhere and the logical place is at the beginning where you can set your tone and objectives. After that, write anywhere in your outline that moves you.
4. Don’t get too hung up on being a writer. This one trips people up most often. The very best that you have to offer is in your own voice. Don’t worry about sounding like William Faulkner. His voice is already taken. In fact, if writing isn’t your go-to communication style, speak your book into an audio file using the outline of your book as interview questions. (Example: If you are writing your life story and you have a chapter called “How I Met My Wife”, ask yourself the question, “How did you meet your wife?”) Use voice recognition software to convert the audio file into your first rough draft. You may be surprised how wonderful your book sounds when you don’t think about being a writer. Some of the best speakers and most intelligent people I know are not natural writers. But they can move rooms full of people to laughter and tears. Get that on tape, then clean up the transcript.
5. Hire an editor. As a professional writer, I am the first to admit that I am not a good editor and certainly not my own editor. A writer who is their own editor is like the physician who diagnoses himself: he has a fool for a patient. Trust me, you’ve got blind spots. When you’ve looked at your own manuscript long enough, you don’t see the typos. It is not a moral failing to have someone with an outsider’s perspective improve your work.

Most importantly, relax and enjoy the process. If you have really wanted to write a book, it is because you have something inside you screaming to get out. So sit down, fire up the laptop, and bang away on the keyboard. Have fun with it. You’ll be so darned proud when you have the book in your hand.

*An oft-cited statistic credited to New York Times writer Joseph Epstein.

A Checklist of Best Practices for Working with Content Developers

When subject matter experts are working with content developers and designers for training, marketing, sales, promotion and public relations, what you know is the most important part of the process. It is the job of the content developer or instructional designer to assemble questions, propose an interview and review schedule, and ask you to fill in information gaps.

However, you can have some control of the process itself from your end to help the content developer/writer/instructional designer/trainer to capture your knowledge.

Control can be a wonderful thing. Here are a few tips to make sure you have some leverage on the process.

1. Organization – Feel free to correct and amend! If the steps or flow of the information that the writer has outlined for you do not make sense to you, put them in a logical sequence for them. Nobody understands the context of the material better than you and that includes the content developer.
2. Timeliness – Be in control of the schedule. Be available for interviews and do reviews on the time you’ve both agreed. If they constantly reschedule or are late, escalate to your manager or theirs because it is impacting not only you, but the whole project timeline.
3. Scheduling Conflicts – Anticipate and avoid scheduling conflicts. You are in demand so you will find that sometimes your regular work may directly conflict with meeting your SME obligation. If you are in a job where this can occur, plan for this contingency. For example, ask the writer if you can work ahead on your deadline for your review, comments and sign-offs. In addition to the content developer, the schedule may also involve a graphic designer, computer programmer, project manager and an editor, and their work is scheduled around your deadline, too. Time is money all the way around. People’s deadlines and budgets are affected by your ability to fit this obligation into your schedule.
4. Accuracy – Provide the information requested and double-check to make sure it is correct when you get drafts of the program (and yes, you may receive more than one!). This seems simple enough and may even seem insulting to mention, but it wouldn’t be here if information isn’t regularly misinterpreted by content developers and failure to check information by subject matter experts didn’t happen.
5. Sign-Offs – Sign off at pre-agreed checkpoints, and make sure you have checked the accuracy of the information when you do. If you are working with a writer from outside your company, there is probably a contract in place between the contractor and your company that makes your company responsible for content after you affix your signature to it. If you sign off on incorrect information, it will cost your company when the project goes into overruns for corrections or scope creep. Internally, your sign-off means the information is going to be finalized, packaged and used in training, sales or public materials. Your sign-off not only is the hallmark of your credibility, but it affects the performance of other people in your organization and the impression of the organization to external audiences, as well.
6. Blind Spots – We all have them. Frequently, we develop blind spots as a result of our success. Because you are the SME, let’s assume you’ve met with a lot of success in your life, and that makes you vulnerable to blind spots. Think through the eyes of a novice when you are explaining details to your content developer. What seems obvious to you may be completely unfamiliar to someone who doesn’t walk in your shoes.

#LectureOff

As I write this, I think it sounds preach-y and I apologize if it does. On the other hand, sometimes when you are in the role of a subject matter expert, it is because you are 100% focused on your skill, ability, craft and knowledge. That is the great thing that makes you valuable.

In this blog in a few hundred words, I ask you to walk in your content developer’s shoes and see the world through their eyes. Without you, we’d be writing about ????

As a subject matter expert, what kinds of tips and best practices work for you when you are talking to writers, trainers and other content developers?

3 Things To Expect From Your Content Developer

Your content developer’s job is to conceptualize and plan a well-orchestrated document, whether that takes the shape of a training program, an article, a video or some other type of communication. It is your job as the subject matter expert to fill in the blanks.

If you find that you are having trouble whittling down what you know to fill in the blanks, or you can’t fill in the blanks as requested, the training or content developer needs to come up with a better plan. A well-designed document will make it fairly obvious to you exactly what the learner or reader/viewer will be consuming. A good plan will also make it obvious what is being requested of you.

When your understanding of the pathway set out by the content designer is different than the execution of the process, communicate your concerns immediately. No use wasting time chasing rabbits down the proverbial rabbit hole.

You will need a few things from a content developer or, in the case of a training program the instructional designer, to know if you have a good working plan.

The ID should be able to tell you three things:

• Objectives and goals of the document you are working on
• Information needed from you to achieve the objectives
• Process and timetable for the project

The Plan

You didn’t get where you are without learning to expect the unexpected and adjust to it. For those of you who like to be prepared, here is a common sense guide as you plan your work with the content designer.

Plan A: Plan your work and work your plan.

Plan B: The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry; midcourse correction.

Plan C: When all else fails, experience has shown that true subject matter experts will get the job done no matter the circumstances.

So while Plan A is preferred and Plan B has been known to occur, many strong training programs and other content have emerged from the fact that you are, indeed, the expert and you got there by dint of hard work and tenacity.

It’s good to have a plan. It’s even better to have a true SME.

  This is the fourth of four posts on tips for training your subject matter expert to be polished in front of learners.

In this final train-the-trainer – or TTT –  post, let’s look at some fundamentals of classroom management that make presentations run more smoothly. Many classroom management issues involve simple logistics. Some seem obvious to experienced facilitators but to the untrained trainer a few of these little logistical details can create speed bumps for the pace of your class if they aren’t handled properly.

Most trainers have some kind of icebreaker as a way to introduce themselves and engage learners. If you have favorite icebreakers you’ve learned, share them with trainers who are new to the classroom. There are plenty of ideas online for games to warm up learners. If you have a short class, say one hour or so, you won’t have time to do many complicated activities that take away from your limited time. At least have an introduction that engages the attendees such as a brief entertaining story that reveals a bit about you and your subject.

Logistics

Train-the-trainer sessions should include instructions on how to set down rules that make the class more comfortable for everyone. Yes, you are dealing with adults, but even adults need to be reminded to turn off their cell phones and check messages on the break. Even adults need to be reminded to wait their turn to speak. And even adults need to be reminded that speakers should be given undivided attention when they have the floor and that side conversations are distracting.

When creating a training slide deck, the rules are usually a standard second or third slide before the agenda or learning objectives.  That’s because the trainer needs to discuss logistics before diving into anything of substance to avoid stopping the class to address these things later. If the class doesn’t have a slide deck, simply post the rules where everyone can see them. Just make sure you call attention to them.

Here’s what to include for classroom rules:

• Cell phones: Turn off cell phones and get messages on the breaks
• Exits: Point out exits for emergencies when the location is unfamiliar to the learners
• Bio Breaks: Point out bathroom direction when the location is unfamiliar to the learners
• Temperature and noise: Adjust heat or cooling, ask if everyone is comfortable, and resolve any environmental issues if possible. Call building maintenance if there is a serious issue with comfort or if someone is operating a jackhammer outside the classroom.
• Parking Lot: Create a parking lot for discussions that are outside the scope of the class and for questions that arise and need to be researched (the parking lot can be a white board, a flip chart or some other place where you can write topics that need to be tabled)
• Rants: Encourage participation; discourage side conversations so everyone benefits from the thinking of the group
• Food and Drink: Announce availability or prohibitions regarding food and drink during the sessions. Inquire about food allergies.
• Schedule: Announce beginning and ending times, break times and whether snacks, lunch or dinner is available. Ask if anyone has a conflict. Inquire about food allergies.

In a multi-day class, insert this slide at the beginning of each new day of training as a reminder and briefly review the rules. Adjust these recommendations depending on the material, the class and the location. For example, food or breaks may not be relevant in a one-hour class. Emergency exits and bathroom directions are not needed when employees are familiar with the layout of their own company.

Behavior

Depending on the topic, attendees may encounter strong opinions or emotional moments among themselves. The trainer’s role is to keep the environment safe for people in the room. If an attendee feels attacked professionally or personally, it is important to try to reframe the statement or situation to neutralize the content of the message.

Distinguish between honest, healthy, heated professional discussions and those that cross the line and become personal. Often a strong, fiery debate is appropriate. If things devolve into tears or anger, though, consider the line crossed and jump in to reframe and neutralize the topic. If something can’t be resolved, say “let’s agree to disagree and put this in the parking lot for right now. Perhaps we can come back to this if we have time at the end of the class.” If the issue has no short-term satisfactory resolution, don’t return to it. It will only distract from discussing relevant material.

If a particular individual is disruptive, they often simply need to be acknowledged. Physically move closer to them and ask them for their opinion. Usually after a person is seen and heard, they will calm down and participate. When you encounter an individual for whom attention does not work, you may take them aside on a break, find out if there is a problem and, if it cannot be resolved, invite them to leave.

Your Trainer Appreciates Tricks of the Trade

When you are training your trainers, most subject matter experts who are going in front of a classroom for the first time are excited to be teaching their beloved topic. When you give them a few tips and tools, they will be much more successful. You can head off a lot of unnecessary problems by preparing them with these few techniques.

To review, over the past few weeks we discussed three main areas to cover when training the trainer. No, it’s not rocket science but it’s easy to overlook the easy stuff. Prepare your SME for success as a classroom trainer by including in your train-the-trainer program:

• The material to be taught
• Vocal quality and body position
• Classroom management

What are some of the classroom management techniques that you use to keep classes running smoothly? Share your comments below.