Kyla

I'm an IT Support Specialist and former User Experience (UX) Designer who is passionate about helping people and providing exceptional service. More than six years of work in user experience design and two years in a tech support role honed my client-oriented approach and communication skills.

Quotation marks with periods and commas

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Q: Should I place my periods and commas inside or outside quotation marks? That depends on what style of English you follow. If you follow the British style, periods and commas can go inside or outside the quotation marks. But if you follow the American style, periods and commas stay inside the quotation marks. For … Read more

Applying the ‘Yes and…’ principle to technical communication

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What is “Yes, and…”? “Yes, and…” is a rule-of-thumb that encourages a participant to listen to and build on an idea that another participant presents. This approach keeps the lines of communication open and fosters cooperation and friendship. For example, Alice starts the scene as a surgeon. Bob accepts this offer (the “yes”) and continues … Read more

Vertical and horizontal ellipses

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I’m part of the Write the Docs (WTD) Slack channel, where technical communicators and other professionals who write the docs share ideas and knowledge. Every morning, I open the Slack channel and read the discussions so I can learn something new every day. Recently, one of the members asked how he should refer to the … Read more

Documenting my thought process

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When I was a co-op student studying media arts and design, my advisors emphasized the importance of including my completed projects in my portfolio. I obeyed but neglected to do something else—document the thought process behind my design. Sure, I wrote a short paragraph describing the project’s goal(s) and the tool(s) I used, but that … Read more

Why I’m blogging

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I journal. I use a fountain pen and glide across the page. Call me an old soul. Blogging, especially daily blogging, has never appealed to me because I’m not on my computer 24/7. I like to step outside and take a walk. I disconnect from social media once in a while. So, why am I … Read more