Podcast 159: Towards a Question and Answer world

A flat-style digital illustration shows a young woman sitting cross-legged and reading a large open manual on the left side. On the right, a smiling robot with a speech bubble containing a question mark interacts with a standing man. The image uses soft shades of blue and orange to contrast traditional documentation with modern chatbot-based assistance.

The way users want to access information may be undergoing a seismic shift. Some have suggested technical communication is rapidly moving towards a question-and-answer (Q&A) paradigm. As user behaviour moves away from reading and towards asking, we discuss how chatbots, AI, and Q&A-driven interfaces are reshaping the expectations and responsibilities of technical communicators. Takeaway quote:… Read more »

Towards a Question and Answer world

A flat-style digital illustration shows a young woman sitting cross-legged and reading a large open manual on the left side. On the right, a smiling robot with a speech bubble containing a question mark interacts with a standing man. The image uses soft shades of blue and orange to contrast traditional documentation with modern chatbot-based assistance.

Technical communication has traditionally been rooted in instructional guides: comprehensive resources users could turn to when they needed information. But that information was only useful if users could actually find it. The expectation was that users would search for what they needed and then read it. On the provider’s side, the goal was to make… Read more »

Podcast 154: Trends for 2025 and beyond in technical writing

In this episode, we reflect on 2024’s trends and explore what may be coming in the world of technical writing and content development in 2025. From the impact of AI to evolving policy requirements and shifting market dynamics, we look into the key factors shaping the field.   Reflections on 2024 Overview of the year’s… Read more »

Podcast 142: Trends in technical communication for 2024 and beyond

It’s that time of year for us to gaze into our crystal ball and share your and our predictions for the future of technical communication for 2024 and beyond. Transcript This is the Cherryleaf podcast. Hello and welcome to the Cherryleaf podcast. What we do at the end of the year is we look at… Read more »

Podcast 130: Trends in technical communication for 2023 and beyond

It’s that time of year for us to gaze into our crystal ball and share your and our predictions for the future of technical communication for 2023 and beyond.   Transcript This is the Cherryleaf Podcast. Welcome to The Cherryleaf Podcast. Around this time of the year, we tend to do a podcast on future… Read more »