Meerkat Communications

Hard to believe we’re already half way through August and heading into fall, when we haven’t even really had a summer! (I know, I know, so boring to complain about the weather but I can’t help it, I’m a sun-starved African living in the north).

With the lull over the summer coming to a close, it looks like it’s going to be a busy last few months of 2011. I’m going to be giving a seminar mid-September for SITE BC on Technical Report Writing. As described on their website,  “SITE BC (The Society of Internationally Trained Engineers of British Columbia) is an independent non- profit society founded in 2004 to represent the interests of British Columbia’s Internationally Trained Engineering community (ITEs).” I’m really looking forward to talking to their group about some of the fundamentals of writing technical reports.

I find when I talk to professionals in various industries, their complaint is the same: many people don’t know how to write or organise documents in a professional manner. Part of this issue that I have encountered is that of reader-unfriendly, jargon-loaded language and an overly formal tone. I will be addressing these issues, along with how to effectively  integrate graphics into a document, which I hope will be useful for the engineers.

Fall also promises more teaching, more writing projects (collaborating with my great graphic design partners at Spectramedia), as well as a workshop series with Dina Grskovich of DMG Strategy, so it’s going to be a busy one!

Watch this space for more details.

Geraldine

Hard to believe how time is marching on. Here in Vancouver we are right in the middle of the Olympics, of course, and so things have all but shut down everywhere as the crowds take to the streets and everywhere it’s red and white!

It’s important to remember, though, that life actually does go on and so you can’t ever really ignore those things on the to-do list. Tax time is coming up, there are articles to be written, I have midterms to set for my Business Communication students, and a lot of other things big and small to accomplish. The gorgeous sunshine we have been having (I hear the warmest winter in 114 years) makes it very hard to sit inside and do all these things as it feels like spring already out there. The cherry trees are blossoming and by tomorrow or the next day, I will have bright new daffodils in the garden. How can I possibly think about taxes at a time like this? 🙂 It’s all about balance though.

I’ve decided to attempt to do The Artist’s Way course again. About five years ago I started the book, and I have always been a ‘journaler’ and try to take myself off on Artist’s Dates as often as possible, but I really would like to try the various other activities Cameron suggests. I’ll be interested to see how it goes, and perhaps, as an accountability exercise, I will try and blog about my experiences. I also need to remind myself not to beat myself up if I don’t get through things, remembering that balance and the importance of being good to myself.

In other news, will be having an article published on Entreprenurial Woman; a fantastic online magazine aimed at female small business owners. I’ll also be starting on a new writing/SEO project soon, working in conjunction with the fabulous crew from Spectramedia. Its going to be a very busy next few months, but looking forward to it.

Geraldine