The Power of Style Guides with Kimberly Voltaire of Simpli.fi

In this episode of Behind the Docs, Ren reconnects with Kimberly Voltaire, Technical Editor at Simpli.fi, after first meeting through a Help Site Assessment. Kimberly shares her journey from aspiring English professor to technical communications, how she built Simpli.fi’s first-ever style guide from the ground up, and why editing is far more than “just fixing words.”

You’ll hear:

✨ How Kimberly balances editing, UX, content strategy, and style guide ownership in her day-to-day

✨ Why technical editors wear more hats than most people realize—and why that’s a good thing

✨ The surprising challenges (and joys) of creating and maintaining a living style guide

✨ Her take on cross-team collaboration, from business development to marketing, and why tech comm needs a stronger seat at the table

✨ A candid discussion on AI—what it can (and can’t) do for technical communication teams

Kimberly’s passion for clarity, collaboration, and user experience shines through in this conversation. If you’ve ever wondered how to advocate for the true value of technical editing—or what makes a great style guide stick—this episode is packed with insights you won’t want to miss.