TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION

Communication

• An exchange of information getting a message across. 2 or more parties involved

• Has a purpose, a means, extent of task 

• Listening, speaking, reading and writing are necessary for good communication effective communication requires proficiency in all aspects of a language. 

  Good Communication

• Clarity of thought 
• Clear delivery (message) 
• Confirm message is correctly understood 
• Breaking barriers – first step to good communication needs good preparation (writing, speaking) 
• 3 steps to getting messages across introducing, conveying and repeating 
• 3 steps to successful communication listen, respond, act 

Technical Communication 

• Is the literature of science and technology Information developed by science and technology must be recorded 
•  Needs to be written in clear, simple language for non specialists in the subject 
• Sometimes needs presentation in great detail to subject specialists.
• Information conveyed must be precise, accurate and clear 
• May involve projects for various companies and laboratories doing research work 
• May contain speeches, news stories, scripts for videos and films or electronic publications 
• Explains current research, a new technology, or provides information for others 
• Needs clear thinking, logical and accurate presentation as complex technical information needs translation into a useful product. 
• Needed wherever there is scientific or engineering work done – laboratory, manufacturing company, assembly plant, software company etc.
• Is specialized (related to Science & Technology) 
• Has a special audience, purpose and style Writing has a format, a situation and content for use 
• Is communication for specific task (educating, setting up apparatus, mending) 
• Is situation-oriented, directed to very specific audiences 
• Often, has a strong visual component. 
• Connects to fields like Psychology and Computer Science. 

Need for Tech. 

• Communication Meet team work with no technical expertise 
• Engineers need to educate the whole world with their expertise 
• Engineering and communication need to be combined 
• Scientific knowledge is more specialized and more technical, therefore needs communication with non-experts 
• Necessary for collaboration with other fields like funding, markets, recruitment
• Tech. Comm. has become more important with IT. Tech. information needs to be conveyed in a non-technical way 
• Communication is between people with widely different backgrounds 
• Additional explanation may be necessary due to different background. 
• Tech. Comm. covers different areas, writing, information technology, graphic design and more 
• Modern engineering needs to communicate results 
• Technical communicators need to understand audience, translate and inform 

 

Technical Communicators

Technical Communicators are Writers and Editors,Teachers and Advocates and produce:

• Help files for software 
• User Manuals 
• Packaging, labelling/instructions 
• Proposals for businesses, organisations etc 
• Web pages/Online communication 
• Graphical presentations 

Types of Communication 

• User’s Guide, help, references, policies and procedures guides, online wizards etc. purpose – to explain how to use products , services and policies 
• Technical reports, articles and books - Exchange “basic” scientific information 
• Proposals, catalogues, brochures, video tapes, audio tapes and demonstrations – Market products and services 
• Workbooks, tutorials, quick references, video/audio tapes, online coaches, cards etc. - Train users 
• News letters, magazines and e-zines - Provide for a combination of purposes 

Process to Follow 

• Varies among organisations 
• Generally has four phases 
• design
• development
• production
• maintenance 
• Design 
• 1. refers to: 
• planning / designing a communication product preparing a blueprint (building) involves choosing content for intended audience and deciding on sequence to present content. 
• 2. choosing a strategy for communicating information 
• medium (print or online)
• form to take (brief warning message, entire reference 
• tone of message 
• general appearance of screens 
• editing 
• Development 
• process of turning device into finished communication product eg. Constructing a building from blueprints Involves writing and editing information, preparation of graphics, reviewing information to make sure it is technically accurate, usable and adheres to editorial guidelines Production 
• preparing for duplication 
• duplicating and distributing to intended audience 
• Maintenance 
• variety of activities after beginning to use, using the communication product - include tracking user satisfaction, usability and updating communication product as technical information changes. 

Skills for Technical Writing

• Writing – communication through words and visual images 
• Editing – for easy comprehension of a document making sure the writing is grammatically and lexically correct 
• Information design – planning a communication product 
• Project management – planning and implementing product to meet deadlines and within budget 
• Graphic design – preparing page and screen designs and producing graphic images - used in the design, development and production phases 
• Usability – designing products and information to detect trouble spots 
• primarily used in design and development phases. 

Duties of a Technical Communicator 

• Scopes project for an information product 
• requirements 
• audience needs 
• schedule 
• Uses media ( paper, Web, product interface) to convey technical information
• how to use the product 
• how to install and configure 
• how to customize or extend product 

 To Produce Information 

• Gather information
• interviews specialists (engineering, quality assurance, marketing) 
• takes advantage of artifacts produced (functional specifications, requirements, white papers, marketing collateral) 
• experiments with product or prototype 
• Does first draft. Explains product to specialists / non specialists 
• concepts (overview material) 
• procedures (step by step) 
• reference (tables for detail) 
• tutorials (teaching concepts through guided procedures) 
• Collects feedback from subject specialists who have reviewed the work 
• Revises the information product (final draft) 
• Does production (makes sure the look is clean and consistent) 
• Delivers information product to department that builds the script. 

Note:

• Subject specialists – engineers, programmers, marketing specialists 
• Non – specialists – managers, users of product 

Competencies for Communicator 

• Technical knowledge in some domain: 
•  software, hardware, process 
• Communication skills 
• clear, concise 

Knowledge for Tech.Communication 

• Journalism 
• Public Relations 
• Education 
• Science 
• Engineering 
• Computer Science 
• Psychology 

The Writing Process 

Is similar to other writing and follows:

• Understanding reader 
• Organising information 
• Planning projects 
• Forming collaborative groups 
• Drafting information verbally and visually 
• Producing information.

Producing Information

Is done by:

• designing for print or online 
• formatting for multimedia 
• considering grammar and style 
• editing for consistency, clarity, accuracy 
• evaluating for usability 
• protecting information through copyrights and professional ethics