Technical
Communication and
Your Career
C
H
A
P
T
E
R
1
Presentation Overview
•
•
•
•
•
•
What is Technical Communication?
Who Creates It?
When Will You Create It?
Why Is It Important to Your Career?
What Workplace Factors Affect It?
What Makes It Excellent?
What Is Technical Communication?
Technical communication clearly and accurately
conveys technical information so that readers
can understand it quickly and easily and use it
safely and efficiently.
It is found anywhere readers gather information
to complete a task.
What Is Technical Communication?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Letters
Memos
E-mails
Resumés
Job descriptions
Contracts
Forms
Program or product
specifications
Process descriptions
Brochures
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Policy manuals
Procedures
Instruction manuals
Online help
Owners’ manuals
Safety manuals
Training materials
Tutorials
Workbooks
Quick reference guides
What Is Technical Communication?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Flyers
Newsletters
Requests for proposals
Information for bids
Bid proposals
Grant proposals
Directives
Progress reports
Meeting minutes
Field reports
Lab reports
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Trip reports
Maintenance discrepancy
reports
Incident or accident
reports
Research reports
Analytical reports
Recommendation reports
Feasibility studies
Performance evaluations
Web content
Touch-screen displays
What Is Technical Communication?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Presentations
Demonstrations
Articles for trade and
professional journals
Syllabi
Lesson plans
Textbooks
Cookbooks
Catalogs
Phone books
Warning labels
•
•
•
Product tags
Signs
And much, much more!
Who Creates It?
• Technical communicators, a.k.a. technical
writers, who write as their primary job
function.
• Technical professionals who write as part of
their job, but not as their primary job
function.
• As a prospective college graduate, most
likely—you!
When Will You Create It?
• Regularly to perform routine tasks
• Occasionally to perform non-routine tasks
When Will You Create It?
A petroleum
engineer might
prepare technical
communications for
these routine and
non-routine tasks*:
Routine
Tasks
Writing
procedures for
field personnel
NonRoutine
Tasks
Drafting a
professional
opinion for a
deposition
E-mailing
information
requests and
project updates
Preparing a
feasibility study of
options to solve a
technical problem
Preparing a
project report
Writing an article
for a professional
journal
* These are only a few examples of the many potential writing tasks petroleum engineers perform. Tasks may vary according to
company and specific position.
When Will You Create It?
A physical therapist
might prepare
technical
communications for
these routine and
non-routine tasks*:
Routine
Tasks
Writing and
updating a patient
evaluation report
NonRoutine
Tasks
Writing a letter of
necessity
Preparing patient
education
materials
Filling out an
insurance forms
requesting more
information
Writing a
discharge
summary
Preparing an
incident report
* These are only a few examples of the many potential writing tasks physical therapists perform. Tasks may vary according to
company and specific position.
When Will You Create It?
A tax accountant
might prepare
technical
communications for
these routine and
non-routine tasks*:
Routine
Tasks
E-mailing a client
with additional
questions about a
tax return
NonRoutine
Tasks
Revising
procedures to
improve the
process for tax
filings
Preparing a memo
with the results of
research about a
tax issue
Preparing a
presentation for a
major corporate
client
Drafting a letter to
a client to
accompany a
return
Setting goals
followed by
performance
evaluations
* These are only a few examples of the many potential writing tasks tax accountants perform. Tasks may vary according to
company and specific position.
Why Is It Important to Your Career?
Technical communication will most likely be
required for you to perform your job:
– For typical college graduates, 20-60 percent of
their time on the job is spent writing (University
of Maryland).
– For college graduates in technical fields, at least
40 percent of their time on the job is spent
writing.
Why Is It Important to Your Career?
Technical communication will help you succeed
in your career by:
– Allowing you to communicate your ideas
effectively, which increases the likelihood that
they will be implemented
– Persuading others of the value of your work
– Shaping overall perceptions of your performance
Why Is It Important to Your Career?
Good Communication
Visibility
Poor Communication
Visibility
Enhanced
Reputation
Damaged
Reputation
Credibility
Credibility
What Workplace Factors Affect It?
• Organizational and managerial expectations
–
–
–
–
Format
Organization
Style
Design
What Workplace Factors Affect It?
• Readers’ needs and expectations
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Company executives
Managers
Co-workers
Clients
Users
Potential customers
Etc.
What Workplace Factors Affect It?
• A collaborative environment
– In planning a document
– In co-authoring or writing a document
•
•
•
Each person on the team writes a section, and one
person edits
Each person on the team writes a section, and the
team edits together
The team writes and edits the entire document
together
– In reviewing or revising a document
What Workplace Factors Affect It?
• Time and budget
– What is the deadline for this document?
– What other projects do I have to work on at the
same time?
– Are there limits on the amount of money I can
spend on preparing the document?
•
•
•
•
•
Software
Equipment and materials
Graphics or graphic design assistance
Publication rights
Printing and binding
What Workplace Factors Affect It?
• Ethical issues
– Language
– Graphics
– Information
What Makes It Excellent?
• Includes honest, ethical information
– Chapter 2
• Addresses specific readers
– Chapters 4 and 6
• Uses clear, concise language
– Chapters 7 and 8
What Makes It Excellent?
• Uses a professional, accessible design
– Chapters 9 and 10
• Includes complete, accurate information
– Chapter 5
• Follows the conventions of grammar,
punctuation, spelling, and usage
– Appendix
Questions?