MAIN FEATURES OF TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION

OUTLINE

Technical Communication
 Technical communication involves the delivery of clear, consistent, and factual
information—often stemming from complex concepts—for safe and efficient use and
effective comprehension by users.

Main Features of Technical Communication

Technical communication is:
 reader-centered
 accessible and efficient
 often produced by teams
 delivered in paper and digital versions

Main Features of Technical Communication

 focuses on the reader, not the writer

 is efficient and accessible
 is clear and relevant
 uses media effectively
 is created by both individuals and teams
 targets a global audience
 is persuasive and truthful
 is based on research
 delivered in paper and digital versions

General & Technical Communication

General: Technical:
 Contains a general message
 Contains a technical message
 Informal in style
 Mostly formal in style approach
 No set pattern
 Follows a set pattern
 Mostly oral
  Both oral and written  Frequently involves terms or
 Always for a specific audience graphics jargons, graphics etc.

The Five C’s of Technical Communication

 Clear
 Correct
 Concise
 Consistent
 Comprehensive
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Forms of Technical Communication

Oral Forms
 Face-to-face communication
 Meetings
 Seminars
 Conferences
 Presentations
 Group discussions
 Video Conferences

Written Forms
 Memos
 Letters
 E-mails
 Reports
 Proposals
 Research papers
 Bulletins
 Brochures

Six Characteristics of Technical Communication:

1. Addresses particular readers;
2. Helps readers solve problems;
3. Reflects an organization's goals and culture;
4. Is produced collaboratively;
 5. Uses design to increase readability; and
6. Consists of words or graphics or both.

The Essential Elements of Technical Writing/Communication

Presentation and Tone, Number, voice and Tense, Conciseness, Unambiguity, Clarity
 Presentation and Tone
 Technical communication differs from fiction in many ways. In mystery novels the
reader is kept in suspense because the writer has hidden important clues that are
explained at the end of the story to produce a surprise. In contrast, the readers of technical
writing are given the important conclusions at the beginning, followed by evidence
supporting those conclusions.
 Examples; he simple question Do we have any mail today? can be answered by a man
sitting on his veranda in two ways.
 He could say: I got up out of my chair and sauntered out to the mailbox. I looked up
before opening the box and saw the mailman going down the street past our house. When
I opened the mailbox there was nothing in it, so I don’t think we’ll have any mail
today.”Or he could answer: “No, we won’t have mail today. The mailbox is empty and
the mailman has passed our house.

 Number, Voice, and Tense

 Most technical communication is done in the third person. Pronouns like you, I, and we
are to be avoided. The choice of voice used in technical communication is important
 Examples; Examples of the different types of voice are: Active voice: The ice melted at
0°C. Passive voice: The ice was melted by convection heating. There is a strong
temptation to overuse the passive voice in technical writing to avoid using I and we;
however, it is good to use the active voice wherever possible.

 Conciseness
 A hallmark of good technical papers and reports is that they are as concise. Most
readers are busy people, and the technical writer should avoid wordiness and
redundancy.
 Clarity
 The logical flow of the document will help readers understand the content. It can be
useful to ask someone who is not familiar with the topic to review your writing before
you finalize it. Using headings, illustrations, graphs or tables can be useful - your aim
is to make it as easy as possible for your readers to understand what you've written.
 Accuracy
 The information and the interpretation of data that you present must be accurate. If it's
not, your readers will question the credibility of the content. Be careful to clearly
 differentiate between fact and opinion, and to accurately cite references to other
works.

REFERENCES
https://www.slideshare.net/TatendaChityori/10-technical-communication
https://www.slideshare.net/jaggithemanager/technical-communication-15019021
MAIN FEATURES
https://slideplayer.com/slide/12130543/