Intro to Technical CommunicationEnglish 3359Spring 2014 – MartinThe University of Texas at El Paso

A quick note

You will notice that I often times use the term “Technical Communication” as oppose to “Technical Writing.” I prefer the term communication as it refers to much more than just writing. As you will see in this course, the work we analyze and the work we will do are comprised of much more than just writing and move more towards a overall goal of communicating ideas and, more importantly, actions.

What is Technical Communication?

Our textbook defines Technical Communication in two ways:

(1) “as the process of making and sharing information and ideas in the workplace”, and

(2) “as a set of application—the documents you write” (Markel, 2012).

Another textbook defines Technical Communication as, “a process of managing technical information in ways that allow people to take action” (Johnson-Sheehan, 2012).

What does all this mean?

Simply put, Technical Communication is action-oriented—meaning it communication action.

Think about the types of Technical Communication you have seen, these may be instruction manuals, instructional videos, proposals, or reports.

They all work to communicate some type of action to the reader. Instructions work to have the reader complete the actions where proposals are working to have the reader move on some type of proposed action.

Seven Feature of Technical

Communication1. Technical Communication is action-oriented

2. Technical Communication uses multiple modes of communication

3. Technical Communication details a certain kind of knowledge (know-how)

4. Technical Communication occurs in different genres (reports, proposals, instructions, etc.)

5. Technical Communication is rhetorical—it utilizes a strategic approach to argument and persuasion

6. Technical Communication utilizes design elements

7. Technical Communication is user centered

So, what’s you role as a Technical

Communicator?First, your role is as the writer of the document. You will be the main author of documents and oral presentations

Second, as a role of a project team. As a member of a team, you will likely participate in writing one or more documents for various audiences

Finally, as an information resource for people inside and outside of your organization. It is your job to know the information and be able to relay that information both inside and outside of your organization

Characteristics of a Technical Document

1. It addresses particular readers

2. It helps readers solve problems

3. It reflects the organization’s goals and culture

4. It is produced collaboratively

5. It uses design to increase readability

6. It consists of words or images or both

1. Addresses Particular Readers

All technical documents address a particular audience

For example, if you are composing a proposal for your supervisor, you may think about that person’s job responsibilities, the level of detail they expect, and their history with the organization.

You should always keep your audiences goals and expectations for the document in mind when composing the document. Remember, technical documents are user-centered.

2. Helps Readers Solve Problems

Technical documents help readers learn something or carry out a task (action-oriented).

For example, if you are reading an instruction manual on how to assemble a bookshelf, you are reading this because you need information on how to carry out the task.

3. Reflects Organization’s Goals

and CultureTechnical documents work to further the organization’s goals.

Technical documents also work to reflect the organization’s culture.

For example, think of brochures and pamphlets that are put out by a certain organization and think about how these compositions work to further the organization’s goals as well as represent the culture of the organization.

4. Produced Collaboratively

Although you will often compose documents, or portion of documents on your own, you will most likely work as part of a team producing larger, more complicated documents

Collaboration can vary from composing with a team to simply having a colleague review your writing

The constant influx of technology is always working to make collaboration easier. Think of technologies like Google Hangouts, Skype, and Google Drive

5. Design to Increase Readability

Technical communicators often use design features such as typography, spacing, color, special paper, etc. to accomplish three basic goals:

To make the document look attractive and professional

To help readers navigate the document

To help readers understand the document

6. Consists of words or images or both

Most technical documents include both words and images. The use of images helps the writer perform five main functions:

Make the document more interesting and appealing to readers

Communicate and reinforce difficult concepts

Communicate instructions and descriptions of objects and processes

Communicate large amounts of quantifiable data

Communicate with nonnative speakers

Measures of Excellence in Technical

CommunicationHonesty

Clarity

Accuracy

Comprehensiveness

Accessibility

Conciseness

Professional Appearance

Correctness

Honesty

Honesty is the most important measure of excellence in Technical Communication

It is the right thing to do

If you are dishonest, readers can get hurt

If you are dishonest, you and your organization could face serious legal charges

Clarity

Your goal is to produce a document that conveys a single meaning the reader can understand easily

Technical communicators need to be clear for two reasons:1. Unclear technical communication can be

dangerous

2. Unclear technical communication is expensive

Accuracy

You need to get your information correct

Small inaccuracies can confuse and frustrate your readers

If readers suspect that you are providing incorrect information, they will doubt the validity of the entire document

Comprehensiveness

A good technical document provides all the information the reader needs

Comprehensiveness is important because readers need a complete, self-contained discussion in order to use this information safely, effectively, and efficiently

Accessibility

You reader needs to be able to find the information that they need easily and quickly

Think about how often you have read an instruction manual from cover-to-cover. Most likely, this is a rare occurrence. You probably, like most readers, only look for the information you need

Make it easy for you reader to find the information they need by using feature like a Table of Contents, Index, etc.

Conciseness

A document needs to be concise enough to be used by a busy reader

What is the most efficient and effective way of providing the reader with the necessary information

What information is need to know?

Professional Appearance

Your document should look clean and professional

No matter how strong your content is, if your appearance is poor, readers will quickly form a negative impression of it and of you

Work to create documents that are sophisticated and provide the reader with a pleasant experience

Correctness

A correct document adheres to the conventions of grammar, punctuation, spelling, mechanics, and usage

Incorrect writing can confuse and frustrate the reader

A technical document is meant to convey information and this is difficult to accomplish if the reader is distract by copious errors

Where to find this info

All of the information contained in this slideshow can be found in Chapter 1 of our courses textbook:

Markel, M. (2012). Technical Communication.