Meet Clay Spinuzzi

With 20 years of experience teaching at UT, Professor Clay Spinuzzi is on a mission to help mid-career learners become better problem solvers, and in many cases, to save them from their perfectionist selves.

He is always eager to hear the writing challenges his Extended Campus workshop students bring to class. They usually want to improve their business correspondence, proposals, marketing pitches or complex reports. Often, they are looking for ways to find the inspiration to express themselves.

That discussion can lead to an ugly truth and a new approach: "Inspiration always starts the night before the assignment is due. But you don’t have to live this way!"

Stop Spinning Your Wheels

Professor Spinuzzi holds a bachelor's degree in computer science, a master's degree in technical writing and a Ph.D. in rhetoric and professional communication. He leads learners through easy-to-follow, research-backed tips and tricks that yield better results with less stress.

"Some of the things that we talk about are as simple as Post-it notes. How are you keeping your to-do list? How can we put our thoughts on paper so we can get outside of them and rearrange them?" he explains. "A lot of what we're after in these courses is figuring out how to take all of this complexity, jot down ideas and then revise, revise, revise until we get something that really works."

The result is more purposeful writing and less worry.

Spinuzzi's workshops address real-life needs. He encourages participants to tackle challenging examples from their professional work. He also applies the same principles he teaches in full semester undergrad or graduate classes in concise, daylong workshops.

Busy professionals enrolled in the courses appreciate the direct approach. They show up knowing what they need help with and Spinuzzi involves everyone in brainstorming using the class examples.

"We chew over it together and figure out how to deal with making the time productive. It’s problem-solving in action."

For example, when teaching how to write effective business proposals, Spinuzzi has his students drop their proposal information into grids and rearrange items to make the best sense for readers. "By the end of the day, a couple of people have reworked the logic of their proposals. They know they would have more writing to do, but they have a better idea of how to argue their points and why they were spinning their wheels before."

"I'm excited because I know they're going to take it back to their organizations and they're going to have easier lives. And the people they work with are going to have easier lives too."

Small Steps Add Up

Spinuzzi finds that many learners think of writing as pouring out their soul. He redirects this perception. "Writing is more like building a building or writing a computer program or assembling a model. You have to do it in small steps. When you try to sit down and let it pour out of you, what you're giving people is your internal monologue. That's great for you, but not oriented toward the audience. Getting oriented for the audience is the primary challenge we face and a central lesson in all of my courses."

Participants often work in small groups, allowing a mix of ideas and professions including lawyers, government employees, marketing folks, general business workers, nonprofit professionals and even dedicated writers. Many are managers interested in improving their techniques as well as helping their staff communicate better.

Spinuzzi appreciates that students find him funny and engaging, but he is most satisfied when they praise his take-home tips for better writing.

He also appreciates pushback on the occasion an experienced professional disagrees with some of the things he or other participants say. "Even though I've been doing this for a long time, I don't know everything and some of my advice doesn't apply to all situations." With pushback, problem-solving begins: "What makes this contingency different? How can we handle this together?"

Spinuzzi sees that, typically, everyone in the room starts thinking about the issue and tying things back to what has been discussed earlier. This type of approach is much more valuable than memorizing a list of rules, he says.

Practical Results Will Pay Off

Revising real projects helps participants become better readers and writers, the professor believes. Sometimes a report or article is hard to understand because of structural problems. Once those are untangled, the information is more accessible, and learners see how to apply the same tips to improve their writing.

Spinuzzi is excited with the practical results of the classes he teaches. Not only will participants have easier lives, but their coworkers will have easier lives too. Ultimately, organizations with clear communication will run better.

"It is so important to have these programs at UT. We make lives better in small, local ways. We may not be discovering new planets, but this is a really practical and applied way that UT is changing the world."

Engage Spinuzzi to Train Your Team

Spinuzzi is ready to build the program your team needs to improve their business writing skills. Contact the Extended Campus Custom Training team to explore the custom training options available to you.