Words Work at Microsoft Podcast, a podcast about about how Microsoft culture has evolved, starting with the way we talk

A company lives and dies by its customer service. Today on the pod, we talk with Anna Bertrand about what her team does to ensure that Microsoft support is constantly improving. Anna is a Senior Support Experience Design Manager within the Customer Service and Support team. About a year ago, she was assigned to a team within CSS, tasked with improving the customer support experience at Microsoft. Work they've achieved in part by changing the way they talk. Prior to updating Microsoft's customer support experience, Anna led brand and marketing teams for the likes of Seattle Times, Getty Images, and RealNetworks. On the Words Work At Microsoft Podcast, we chat about how Microsoft culture has evolved. Starting with the way we talk. In each episode, we interview someone within the Microsoft writing community, giving you an inside look at how we approach our work. And, hopefully, offering up a healthy dose of trips and tricks along the way. Special thanks to Sokolovsky Music for our funky background music: https://soundcloud.com/sokolovskymusic/funk-free-music

Laying down some story arcs with flat track roller and prolific writer, Jennifer Warnick, today on the pod. Tune in to hear how this journalist turned content strategist is using her storytelling superpower to help make sense of our world and to share that understanding with our partners and customers. Jennifer's been telling stories about the people and technology at the heart of Microsoft for nearly a decade. A former journalist, her colorful, human-focused news and features helped usher in a new era of corporate storytelling at Microsoft. One of these, “88 Acres: How Microsoft Quietly Built the City of the Future,” led to the creation of the company’s premiere storytelling platform, Microsoft Story Labs, where she worked as lead writer for nearly four years. She's currently working as a senior content and creative strategist for Microsoft Core Engineering Services and sharing her passion for storytelling through coaching, speaking, and workshops. And she first caught our eye when she published a story about the MyAnalytics app that Amy writes for. We were both charmed by Jennifer's use of a baseball metaphor to explain the app's benefits. On the Words Work At Microsoft Podcast, we chat about how Microsoft culture has evolved. Starting with the way we talk. In each episode, we interview someone within the Microsoft writing community, giving you an inside look at how we approach our work. And, hopefully, offering up a healthy dose of trips and tricks along the way. Special thanks to Sokolovsky Music for our funky background music: https://soundcloud.com/sokolovskymusic/funk-free-music

In this episode, we talk to Catherine Minden, owner of Catherine Minden Editorial Services, about her role in updating and maintaining the Microsoft Writing Style Guide. Microsoft Writing Style Guide: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/style-guide/welcome/ Catherine Minden has been an editor for over twenty-five years. She co-wrote The Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publications (Redmond, Wash.: Microsoft Press, 1995), which received an Excellence Award from the Society for Technical Communication. In 2007, Catherine was asked to join the Microsoft Editorial Board, which establishes the standards codified in the Microsoft Manual of Style. The fourth edition of the manual, published in 2012, received an Award of Distinguished Technical Communication at the STC International Summit Awards. Minden Editorial Services was invited to join the Microsoft vendor program 1995 and has twice been a finalist for Microsoft's Vendor Excellence Award. On the Words Work At Microsoft Podcast, we’ll be chatting about how Microsoft culture has evolved, starting with the way we talk. In each episode we’ll interview someone within the Microsoft writing community, giving you an inside look at how we approach our work. And, hopefully, offering up a heavy dose of trips and tricks along the way. Special thanks to Sokolovsky Music for our funky background music: https://soundcloud.com/sokolovskymusic/funk-free-music

Ever wondered who writes what Cortana says? Today, on the pod, we talk to Jonathan Foster, Principal Content Experiences Manager, about just that. Jonathan's career spans film, television, fine-wines, and now nine years of crafting words for Microsoft. He's even made time to self-publish a novel. All of which led him to master the helm of Microsoft Cortana's editorial team. Jonathan brings a background of storytelling and marketing to the Windows Content Experience team, and today we're going to find out what it takes to create—and nourish—an AI personality within a tech giant. On the Words Work At Microsoft podcast, we chat about how Microsoft culture has evolved, starting with the way we talk. In each episode we interview someone within the Microsoft writing community, giving you an inside look at how we approach our work. And, hopefully, offering up a healthy dose of trips and tricks along the way. Special thanks to Sokolovsky Music for our funky background music: https://soundcloud.com/sokolovskymusic/funk-free-music

David Betz, Senior Writer on the Windows Content Experiences team, talks to us about his editorial work for Microsoft Design's Medium publications. Prior to Microsoft, David served as VP of Storytelling with UP Global, where they focused on building startup communities. Before that he spent 12 years on the agency side as Global Creative Director for the award-winning Lexus magazine program, and Creative Director at Story Worldwide. He also taught graphic design at Kent State University, California College of the Arts, and served as co-president of the AIGA Seattle Chapter. On the Words Work At Microsoft Podcast, we chat about how Microsoft culture has evolved starting with the way we talk. In each episode we interview someone within the Microsoft writing community, giving you an inside look at how we approach our work. And, hopefully, offering up a healthy dose of trips and tricks along the way. Special thanks to Sokolovsky Music for our funky background music: https://soundcloud.com/sokolovskymusic/funk-free-music

In this episode, we talk to Laura Reilly, Senior Writer on the Microsoft Office Brand Experiences Team, about putting people back at the heart of productivity. Laura's career started in journalism, chasing that illusive scoop before the printing press could churn out the morning edition. But then destiny jumped in in the form of a Little Caesar's commercial that yanked her career train onto a different track in 30 breathless seconds. Then, those 30 seconds transformed into a 15-year agency and in-house advertising career, for brands spanning Geek Squad and AMEX to Windows and Office. On the Words Work At Microsoft Podcast, we’ll be chatting about how Microsoft culture has evolved, starting with the way we talk. In each episode we’ll interview someone within the Microsoft writing community, giving you an inside look at how we approach our work. And, hopefully, offering up a heavy dose of trips and tricks along the way. Special thanks to Sokolovsky Music for our funky background music: https://soundcloud.com/sokolovskymusic/funk-free-music

In this episode, Jenn and Amy interview each other so you can get to know your podcast hosts better. Tune in to discover how long they've been writers, how their careers started, and what they're working on these days. On the Words Work At Microsoft Podcast, we’ll be chatting about how Microsoft culture has evolved, starting with the way we talk. In each episode we’ll interview someone within the Microsoft writing community, giving you (dear listener) an inside look at how we approach our work. And, hopefully, offering up a heavy dose of trips and tricks along the way. Special thanks to Sokolovsky Music for our funky background music: https://soundcloud.com/sokolovskymusic/funk-free-music

In this episode of the Words Work at Microsoft Podcast, we talk to Brian McKenna—a respected creative director and copywriter in Seattle who was an integral part of Microsoft Office voice work. Jenn's disclaimer: I forgot to turn off my Outlook notifications during the recording. We didn't hear it while we were talking, but my computer definitely picked it up. Unfortunately, that means chimes are littered throughout Brian's lovely interview. Mea culpa, Brian. Mea culpa, listeners. Lesson learned. We think Brian's charm will help you ignore the interruptions. The industry talks a lot about brand voice, customer love, and company values. But it wasn’t always so. One company set the stage for the world to follow. That company was Starbucks, and Brian was one of their early storytellers. And he shares his optimistic perspective with us today on the pod. On the Words Work At Microsoft Podcast, we’ll be chatting about how Microsoft culture has evolved, starting with the way we talk. In each episode we’ll interview someone within the Microsoft writing community, giving you (dear listener) an inside look at how we approach our work. And, hopefully, offering up a heavy dose of trips and tricks along the way. Special thanks to Sokolovsky Music for our funky background music: https://soundcloud.com/sokolovskymusic/funk-free-music

In this inaugural episode of the Words Work at Microsoft podcast we talk to Anna Gregory, Principal Voice Strategist at Microsoft, about her efforts to uncover Microsoft brand voice. If you don't know Anna already, you're probably very familiar with her writing. She's a seasoned copywriter and strategist with stints as Copy Chief at Starbucks, Apple, Nokia, and now Microsoft. Her resume reads like the who's who of big brands. She's currently helping the Office 365 Design Studio shape and build out their creative strategy and voice practice. On the Words Work At Microsoft Podcast, we’ll be chatting about how Microsoft culture has evolved, starting with the way we talk. In each episode we’ll interview someone within the Microsoft writing community, giving you (dear listener) an inside look at how we approach our work. And, hopefully, offering up a heavy dose of trips and tricks along the way. Special thanks to Sokolovsky Music for our funky background music: https://soundcloud.com/sokolovskymusic/funk-free-music