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Chapter 1. Introduction to Technical Communication © 2012 by Bedford/St. Martin's 1

Technical communication has two meanings:

• the process of making and sharing technical information in the workplace

• a set of applications—the documents you write and the presentations you deliver

Chapter 1. Introduction to Technical Communication © 2012 by Bedford/St. Martin's 2

You have three rolesas a communicator:

• the writer of a document

• a member of a project team

• an information resource for others

Chapter 1. Introduction to Technical Communication © 2012 by Bedford/St. Martin's 3

Technical communication affects your career:

• Companies say communication skills are important.

• Strong communication skills make you a more valuable employee.

Chapter 1. Introduction to Technical Communication © 2012 by Bedford/St. Martin's 4

Technical communication has six main characteristics:

• It addresses particular readers.

• It helps readers solve problems.

• It reflects the organization’s goals and culture.

• It is produced collaboratively.

• It uses design to increase readability.

• It consists of words or images or both.

Chapter 1. Introduction to Technical Communication © 2012 by Bedford/St. Martin's 5

Communicators use design featuresto accomplish three basic purposes:

• to make the document look attractive and professional

• to help readers navigate the document• to help readers understand the document

Chapter 1. Introduction to Technical Communication © 2012 by Bedford/St. Martin's 6

Images help the writerperform five main functions:

• to make the document more interesting and

appealing

• to communicate and reinforce difficult concepts

• to communicate instructions and descriptions of

objects and processes

• to communicate large amounts of quantifiable data

• to communicate with nonnative speakers

Chapter 1. Introduction to Technical Communication © 2012 by Bedford/St. Martin's 7

An example of technical communication

Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2005 <www.mypyramid.gov/downloads/sp-MiniPoster.pdf>.

Chapter 1. Introduction to Technical Communication © 2012 by Bedford/St. Martin's 8

An example of technical communication

Source: Sage Software, 2009 <http://download.act.com/act2010/docs/act_usability_and_productivity_whitepaper.pdf>.

Chapter 1. Introduction to Technical Communication © 2012 by Bedford/St. Martin's 9

An example of technical communication

Source: Marathon Technologies, 2010 <www.marathon1.com/why_marathon_video.html>.

Chapter 1. Introduction to Technical Communication © 2012 by Bedford/St. Martin's 10

There are eight measures of excellencein technical communication:

• honesty

• clarity

• accuracy

• comprehensiveness

• accessibility

• conciseness

• professional appearance

• correctness

Chapter 1. Introduction to Technical Communication © 2012 by Bedford/St. Martin's 11

You must communicatehonestly for three reasons:

• 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.

Chapter 1. Introduction to Technical Communication © 2012 by Bedford/St. Martin's 12

Technical communicationmust be clear for two reasons:

• Unclear technical communication can be dangerous.

• Unclear technical communication is expensive.