In only 2015—quite recently, I know—I learned about Haikus. But, it took me three more years to begin to understand Haiku and the other forms of micropoetry. You might have read some of my recent experiments with writing micropoetry—like this and that.

So, this post is about the insights that micropoetry shares with technical communication:

• Sometimes, a lot of solitary moments teach you more than an experience that lasts for a length of time. Micropoetry is one such experience of wisdom that lies within a moment. It is either result- or experience-oriented because each word or line carries an action or empathy.
• This one matches the Pyramid Approach in technical communication. We communicate the most important information first; everything else Similar goes for micropoetry, just that there is no “everything else” in this case.
• Words count; count the words. Usually, the lesser the better. Simple.
• Words weigh based on their definition. Word also weigh based on the intention with which we apply them within a sentence. The latter is the reason people perceive the same word differently in different situations. So, for the sake of the composition, we must keep the right word in the right place.
• Stories move us. Stories empower us. Stories educate us. All three apply to micropoetry and to technical communication alike.

What are your thoughts? As always, I am curious.