Introduction to

Technical
INPT
Communication skills
Communication
Presented by: Pr Mohammed Harrag
 Writing is essential
• “Writing is essential to my work. Everything we do at my company results
in a written product of some kind—a formal technical report, a summary
of key findings, recommendations and submissions to academic journals
or professional associations. We also write proposals to help secure new
contracts. No matter if the document is to be delivered in print or online,
writing is the most important skill we seek in potential employees and
nurture and reward in current employees. It is very hard to find people
with strong writing skills, regardless of their academic background.”
—Paul Harder, President, mid-sized consulting firm

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OUTLINE

What Is Technical Communication?

 Main Features of Technical Communication
Purposes of Technical Communication
 Preparing Effective Technical Documents
Projects

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LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1.1 Define technical communication
1.2 Identify the main features of technical communication
 1.3 Explain the purposes of technical communication
1.4 Describe the four tasks involved in preparing effective technical documents

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WHAT IS TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION?
Define technical communication
Technical communication is the exchange of information that helps people interact
with technology and solve complex problems. Almost every day, we make decisions
or take actions that depend on technical information.
Technical communication helps us solve complex problems:
Examples:
People may need to perform a task (say, assemble a new exercise machine), answer
a question (say, about the safety of a flu shot), or make a decision (say, about
suspending offshore oil drilling). In the workplace, we are not only consumers of
technical communication but also producers.
To be effective and useful, any document or presentation we prepare (memo, letter,
report, Web page, PowerPoint presentation) must advance the goals of our readers,
viewers, or listeners.
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Typical kinds of technical communication

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 Technical Communication Is a Digital and a Human FR
Activity
In today’s workplace, with all of the digital communication available to us, we
communicate in writing more than ever.:
Email, texts, chat sessions, social media and blog posts, document review features
(such as Word’s track changes when editing group documents): These technologies are
a daily part of our workplace communication. Digital technologies make it easy for
people to collaborate, especially across different time zones or work schedules.
Yet in digital formats, we often communicate with such speed that we forget about
basic professional standards for workplace communication.
For instance, the informal or even humorous tone we use to text our friends is
typically not appropriate for a work-related email.

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Digital technology also provides plenty of ways, from simple to sophisticated, to
research and find information.
 Doing a Google or other online search, however, is not a substitute for critical
thinking skills. The big questions involved in most workplace projects are questions
that require us to take our research findings and make the information meaningful
by asking questions such as these:
 Which information is relevant to this situation?
 Can I verify the credibility and accuracy of this source?
What does this information mean?
What action does it suggest?
How does this information affect me or my colleagues?
 With whom should I share it?
How might others interpret this information?
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Technical Communication Reaches a Global Audience
Write to a diverse audience: Linked as we are through our transportation systems
and especially our digital technologies, the global community shares social, political,
and financial interests,
Consider the cultural context: Understanding the point of view of another culture
takes time. Even within specific cultures, people are individuals and can’t be lumped
together into one stereotype,
Understand that communication behaviors differ across cultures: Cultures differ
over which communication behaviors and approaches are appropriate for business
relationships, including contract and other legal negotiations, types of documents
(e.g., whether to use email, a memo, or a letter), tone and style, use of visuals, and
so forth. An effective and appropriate communication style in one culture may be
considered inappropriate or even offensive in another.

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Take the time to learn about cultural differences: The documents you
research and write at work need to reflect an understanding and
sensitivity to cultural differences and the communication approaches of
your teammates at work and your readers (i.e., your customers or
clients)

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Technical Communication Is Part of Most Careers:

Most professionals serve as part-time technical communicators: e.g., As

a medical professional, As a manager, As an engineer or architect…
Employers seek portable skills: The more you advance in your field, the
more you will need to share information and establish contacts.
Managers and executives spend much of their time negotiating, setting
policies, and promoting their ideas…

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Technical Communicators Play Many Roles
The variety of job titles of technical communicators: Full-time technical
communicators work in many capacities. Job titles include information
architect, user experience engineer, technical writer, technical editor,
documentation specialist, Web development specialist, and content
developer.
What technical communicators do? Technical communicators also edit
reports for punctuation, grammar, style, and logical organization. They
may oversee publishing projects, coordinating the efforts of writers,
visual artists, graphic designers, content experts, and lawyers to
produce a complex manual, report, or proposal.

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Main Features of Technical Communication
1.2 Identify the main features of technical communication: Almost any form of
technical communication displays certain shared features: The communication is
reader-centered, accessible and efficient, often produced by teams, and delivered in
a variety of digital and hard copy formats.
Reader-Centered: Focus on the reader, not the writer
What readers expect? Workplace readers typically are interested in “who you are”
only to the extent that they want to know what you have done, what you
recommend, or how you speak for your company.
Reader-centered documents focus on what people need to learn, do, or decide:
For example while the history of how this product was invented may be of interest to
the writer, instructions for assembling a new workstation desk should focus on what
readers need to do—assemble their desk and start using it…

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 Accessible and Efficient FR
Make documents easy to navigate and understand: Readers expect to find the
information they need and to have questions answered clearly
Elements that make a document accessible and efficient:
 worthwhile content—includes all (and only) the information readers need
 sensible organization—guides the reader and emphasizes important material
 readable style—promotes fluid reading and accurate understanding
 effective visuals—clarify concepts and relationships, and substitute for words
whenever possible
 effective page design—provides heads, lists, type styles, white space, and other
aids to navigation
 supplements (abstract, appendix, glossary, linked pages, and so on)—allow readers
to focus on the specific parts of a long document that are relevant to their purpose.

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Recognize your legal accountability: Accessible, efficient communication is no mere
abstract notion: In the event of a lawsuit, faulty writing is treated like any other
faulty product. If your inaccurate, unclear, or incomplete information leads to injury,
damage, or loss, you and your company or organization can be held responsible.
Often Produced by Teams: Technical documents are often complex. Instead of being
produced by a lone writer, complex documents usually are created by teams
composed of writers, Web designers, engineers or scientists, managers, legal
experts, and other professionals. The teams might be situated at one site or location
or distributed across different job sites, time zones, and countries,
Delivered in Paper and Digital Versions: Technical documents can be delivered in a
variety of media such as print (hard copy), Web pages, PDF documents, e-books,
podcasts, blog and social media posts, tweets, and online videos. In many cases,
there is no clear distinction between print and digital communication.

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 Purposes of Technical Communication FR
1.3 The purposes of technical communication: Most forms of technical communication
address one of three primary purposes:
(1) to anticipate and answer questions (inform your readers);
(2) to enable people to perform a task or follow a procedure (instruct your
readers); or
(3) to influence people’s thinking (persuade your readers)
Documents That Inform: Anticipate and answer your readers’ questions
Documents That Instruct: Enable your readers to perform certain tasks, Instructional
documents help people do something: assemble a new computer, perform CPR…
Documents That Persuade: Persuasion encourages people to take a desired action.
While some documents (such as a sales letter) are explicitly persuasive, even the most
technical of documents can have an implicitly persuasive purpose

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 Preparing Effective Technical Documents FR
1.4 The four tasks involved in preparing effective technical documents:

Deliver information readers can use—because different people in different

situations have different information needs
Use persuasive reasoning—because people often disagree about what the
information means and what action should be taken
Weigh the ethical issues—because unethical communication lacks credibility and
could alienate readers
Practice good teamwork—in most professions, documents are not produced by one
person but by a team of colleagues from different parts of the organization

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 CONCLUSION FR

There are three major purposes of technical communication:

1. to anticipate or answer questions;
2. to help in performing a task or following a procedure;
3. and to influence thinking.
The four tasks involved in preparing effective technical
documents:
1. Deliver information readers can use
2. Deliver information readers can use
3. Weigh the ethical issues
4. Weigh the ethical issues
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ASSIGNMENT
Find one example of each that you have encountered in your
institute and evaluate its effectiveness. You may refer to your
institute’s Web site, emails, or announcement boards. Prepare a
report to present to the class explaining your evaluation of each
chosen example: herewith are attached the four tasks
1. Deliver information readers can use
2. Use persuasive reasoning
3. Weigh the ethical issues
4. Practice good teamwork

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THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION

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