Technical writing and professional communication pdf

After years of having willing and captive audiences i. They don't want to, but they have to. Technical or workplace writing is intended to solve problems, seek solutions, and provide necessary information that workers will use to, well, solve problems, seek solutions, and provide necessary information. And to do those things well, you as the writer have to do several things well. How do you ensure that your document will be useful to your readers?

Of course, you will make sure that it adheres to the standards of excellence in this chapter. Here are a few simple things to practice right now. Jakob Nielsen observes that readers, or users, won't read content unless it is clear, simple, and easy to understand.

The late William Zinsser , author of On Writing Well , emphasizes the same points when he states, "Good writing has an aliveness that keeps the reader reading from one paragraph to the next, and it's not a question of gimmick to personalize the author.

First, make sure your writing is legible. Is the font large enough to be read by a variety of audiences? Is it an easy to read font style that is appropriate for the content? If you are writing for the internet, these considerations are especially significant. If there are problems with legibility in your document, it will be of little use to your reader.

Then, make sure your writing is readable. If you have identified and analyzed your audience, you are off to a good start. Readable means that your document can be easily understood by your target audience, and refers to the formula whereby words, sentence length, and sentence complexity determine how hard or easy your sentences are to read.

Too low? You may come across as condescending, if not a lousy writer. Microsoft Word has a readability test built into the program under the Review heading that will give you a good starting place. However, don't rely completely on it to assess the ease or difficulty of your writing.

Have a trusted colleague take a look and give you feedback. You can also use one of many free online readability formulas. Free Readability Test! Finally, your writing may be legible and readable, but how well can your audience comprehend, or understand it in the way you intended? Is the reader able to use the document in the manner you meant? To enhance the readers comprehension , use language and terminology familiar to the reader, and limit paragraphs to one main idea.

Strive for brevity if your users will be reading on tablets or mobile devices. Use visuals such as charts or diagrams to present a lot of information in a graphic format.

You can evaluate how easy your document is to comprehend by getting another set of eyes on it. Ask a colleague to read your text and then tell you what the important ideas are. Exercise 1: Locate some examples of what you consider technical writing. These may include correspondence, journal articles, lab reports, web pages, or advertisements.

In small groups with other classmates, discuss how the documents reflect the characteristics of technical writing. After your group has analyzed the document, present it to the entire class and explain how it meets the characteristics of a technical document. Exercise 2: Locate some of the free readability tools on the Internet and apply one to a section of writing, such as this text, to evaluate the reading level.

In a memo to your instructor, discuss the importance of readability measures in creating useful technical documents. Exercise 3: Locate an instruction manual for a product you may own. Analyze it against the standards listed in the chapter for good technical writing. Submit your analysis in a memo to your instructor. The 10 skills employers want most in graduates. College Board. Writing: A ticket to work…or a ticket out. Defining technical communication.

Society for Technical Communication. Dobrin, S. Be to the point and concise in your choice of words, organization, and even visual aids. Being concise also involves being sensitive to time constraints. How many meetings and conference calls have you attended that got started late or ran beyond the planned ending time? The solution, of course, is to be prepared to be punctual.

If you are asked to give a five-minute presentation at a meeting, your coworkers will not appreciate your taking fifteen minutes, any more than your supervisor would appreciate your submitting a fifteen-page report when you were asked to write five pages.

For oral presentations, time yourself when you rehearse and make sure you can deliver your message within the allotted number of minutes. There is one possible exception to this principle. Many non-Western cultures prefer a less direct approach, where business communication often begins with social or general comments that a U.

Some cultures also have a less strict interpretation of time schedules and punctuality. While it is important to recognize that different cultures have different expectations, the general rule holds true that good business communication does not waste words or time. Ethics refers to a set of principles or rules for correct conduct. Communication can move communities, influence cultures, and change history. It can motivate people to take stand, consider an argument, or purchase a product.

The degree to which you consider both the common good and fundamental principles you hold to be true when crafting your message directly relates to how your message will affect others. It means that everyone is entitled to the same respect, expectations, access to information, and rewards of participation in a group.

In business, you will often communicate to people with certain professional qualifications. For example, you may draft a memo addressed to all the nurses in a certain hospital, or give a speech to all the adjusters in a certain branch of an insurance company. Being egalitarian does not mean you have to avoid professional terminology that is understood by nurses or insurance adjusters.

People are influenced by emotions as well as logic. Aristotle named pathos , or passion, enthusiasm and energy, as the third of his three important parts of communicating after logos and ethos.

We may have also seen people hurt by sarcasm, insults, and other disrespectful forms of communication. This does not mean that passion and enthusiasm are out of place in business communication. Indeed, they are very important. If your topic is worth writing or speaking about, make an effort to show your audience why it is worthwhile by speaking enthusiastically or using a dynamic writing style.

Doing so, in fact, shows respect for their time and their intelligence. However, the ethical communicator will be passionate and enthusiastic without being disrespectful. Would you explain to me what you want to see happen? Trust is a key component in communication, and this is especially true in business.

As a consumer, would you choose to buy merchandise from a company you did not trust? If you were an employer, would you hire someone you did not trust? Your goal as a communicator is to build a healthy relationship with your audience, and to do that you must show them why they can trust you and why the information you are about to give them is believable.

One way to do this is to begin your message by providing some information about your qualifications and background, your interest in the topic, or your reasons for communicating at this particular time. Your audience will expect that what you say is the truth as you understand it. This means that you have not intentionally omitted, deleted, or taken information out of context simply to prove your points.

You may consider more than one perspective on your topic, and then select the perspective you perceive to be correct, giving concrete reasons why you came to this conclusion.

People in the audience may have considered or believe in some of the perspectives you consider, and your attention to them will indicate you have done your homework. Being worthy of trust is something you earn with an audience. Many wise people have observed that trust is hard to build but easy to lose.

This will go over much better with the audience than trying to cover by stumbling through an answer or portraying yourself as knowledgeable on an issue that you are not. In all its many forms, the golden rule incorporates human kindness, cooperation, and reciprocity across cultures, languages, backgrounds and interests. Regardless of where you travel, who you communicate with, or what your audience is like, remember how you would feel if you were on the receiving end of your communication, and act accordingly.

As a communicator, you are responsible for being prepared and being ethical. Being prepared includes being organized, clear, concise, and punctual. Recall one time you felt offended or insulted in a conversation. What contributed to your perception? Please share your comments with classmates. When someone lost your trust, were they able earn it back? Does the communicator have a responsibility to the audience? Does the audience have a responsibility to the speaker?

Why or why not? However great…natural talent may be, the art of writing cannot be learned all at once. Read, read, read…Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. But does written communication—getting it in writing—always prevent misunderstandings? According to a Washington Post news story, a written agreement would have been helpful to an airline customer named Mike. When Mike saw that he and his wife would not be able to do enough flying to use the entire amount before the expiration date, he called the airline and asked for an extension.

Yet, as we will see in this chapter, putting something in writing is not always a foolproof way to ensure accuracy and understanding. This chapter addresses the written word in a business context. We will also briefly consider the symbols, design, font, timing, and related nonverbal expressions you make when composing a page or document.

Our discussions will focus on effective communication of your thoughts and ideas through writing that is clear, concise, and efficient. Old adage holds: Get it in writing.

Washington Post, p. One common concern is to simply address the question, what is good writing? But recognize that while the question may be simple, the answer is complex. Edward P. Bailey [1] offers several key points to remember. What are the rules? You may find it necessary to balance audience expectations with industry standards for a document, and may need to find a balance or compromise.

Bailey [2] points to common sense as one basic criterion of good writing, but common sense is a product of experience. When searching for balance, reader understanding is the deciding factor. The correct use of a semicolon may not be what is needed to make a sentence work.

Being well versed in how to use words correctly, form sentences with proper grammar, and build logical paragraphs are skills the writer can use no matter what the assignment. Even though some business settings may call for conservative writing, there are other areas where creativity is not only allowed but mandated. Imagine working for an advertising agency or a software development firm; in such situations success comes from expressing new, untried ideas.

By following the rules of language and correct writing, a writer can express those creative ideas in a form that comes through clearly and promotes understanding. What is easy to read? For a young audience, you may need to use straightforward, simple terms, but to ignore their use of the language is to create an artificial and unnecessary barrier.

An example referring to Miley Cyrus may work with one reading audience and fall flat with another. Profession-specific terms can serve a valuable purpose as we write about precise concepts. Not everyone will understand all the terms in a profession, but if your audience is largely literate in the terms of the field, using industry terms will help you establish a relationship with your readers.

The truly excellent writer is one who can explain complex ideas in a way that the reader can understand. It may also be a matter of choosing dynamic, specific verbs that make it clear what is happening and who is carrying out the action. Will they want to read it? This question should guide much of what you write. We increasingly gain information from our environment through visual, auditory, and multimedia channels, from YouTube to streaming audio, and to watching the news online.

Some argue that this has led to a decreased attention span for reading, meaning that writers need to appeal to readers with short, punchy sentences and catchy phrases. However, there are still plenty of people who love to immerse themselves in reading an interesting article, proposal, or marketing piece.

If your document provides information to answer a question, solve a problem, or explain how to increase profits or cut costs, you may want to state this in the beginning.

Good writing. In some business situations, you are writing just to one person: your boss, a coworker in another department, or an individual customer or vendor. If you know the person well, it may be as easy for you to write to him or her as it is to write a note to your parent or roommate.

In other situations, you may be writing a document to be read by a group or team, an entire department, or even a large number of total strangers. How can you anticipate their expectations and tailor your writing accordingly? Naturally you want to learn as much as you can about your likely audience.

How much you can learn and what kinds of information will vary with the situation. If you are writing Web site content, for example, you may never meet the people who will visit the site, but you can predict why they would be drawn to the site and what they would expect to read there.

Beyond learning about your audience, your clear understanding of the writing assignment and its purpose will help you to meet reader expectations. Our addition of the fifth point concerning clear and concise writing reflects the increasing tendency in business writing to eliminate error.

Errors can include those associated with production, from writing to editing, and reader response. Your twin goals of clear and concise writing point to a central goal across communication: fidelity. This concept involves our goal of accurately communicating all the intended information with a minimum of signal or message breakdown or misinterpretation.

Designing your documents, including writing and presentation, to reduce message breakdown is an important part of effective business communication. This leads our discussion to efficiency. There are only twenty-four hours in a day and we are increasingly asked to do more with less, with shorter deadlines almost guaranteed.

As a writer, how do you meet ever-increasing expectations? Each writing assignment requires a clear understanding of the goals and desired results, and when either of these two aspects is unclear, the efficiency of your writing can be compromised.

Rewrites require time that you may not have, but will have to make if the assignment was not done correctly the first time. As we have discussed previously, making a habit of reading similar documents prior to beginning your process of writing can help establish a mental template of your desired product.

Your written documents are products and will be required on a schedule that impacts your coworkers and business. Your ability to produce effective documents efficiently is a skill set that will contribute to your success. Our sixth point reinforces this idea with an emphasis on effectiveness. What is effective writing? It is writing that succeeds in accomplishing its purpose. Understanding the purpose, goals, and desired results of your writing assignment will help you achieve this success.

Your employer may want an introductory sales letter to result in an increase in sales leads, or potential contacts for follow-up leading to sales. Another approach to defining good writing is to look at how it fulfills the goals of two well-known systems in communication.

One of these systems comprises the three classical elements of rhetoric, or the art of presenting an argument. These elements are logos logic , ethos ethics and credibility , and pathos emotional appeal , first proposed by the ancient Greek teacher Aristotle. Although rhetoric is often applied to oral communication, especially public speaking, it is also fundamental to good writing. A second set of goals involves what are called cognate strategies, or ways of promoting understanding, [3] developed in recent decades by Charles Kostelnick and David Rogers.

Like rhetorical elements, cognate strategies can be applied to public speaking, but they are also useful in developing good writing. Table 4. Good writing is characterized by correctness, ease of reading, and attractiveness; it also meets reader expectations and is clear, concise, efficient, and effective.

Rhetorical elements logos, ethos, and pathos and cognate strategies clarity, conciseness, arrangement, credibility, expectation, reference, tone, emphasis, and engagement are goals that are achieved in good business writing. Designing visual language: Strategies for professional communicators p.

Additionally, a recent survey of more than working professionals provides valuable insights into how they view their own writing. By suggesting pragmatic ways to improve the writing of emails, memos, and reports, the article also helps students strengthen their job skills as they prepare for their own careers. Exactly what did the survey reveal? While you can see all questions and replies in the accompanying tables, the following responses provoked the most curiosity:.

So what might all this mean? How can you as a future workplace writer increase your confidence and satisfaction with your writing? Work on better evaluating your own work by analyzing your potential audiences, understanding your core messages, and drafting without being hampered too early by the critic or censor in your heads.

Simply giving yourself permission to say it the wrong way in a first draft before you say it the right way in a final draft can ease the angst of writing. How can a writer move quickly from a wordy, awkward draft to a concise, finished document? Demystify your revision process.

You can gain this understanding through such simple techniques as reading your drafts aloud, hearing an audio recording of a draft to spot weakness, asking a class mate to review your draft, and learning to use verbs, not nouns, to do the heavy lifting in your sentences. The key here lies with solid audience analysis: anticipating what your workplace readers already know and need to know in order to make your hoped-for decision.

How have the readers responded in the past? And how would you answer that question about the present state of your writing? This is a common attitude that can often be traced to low grades on writing in school, or to being reluctant or embarrassed to ask another person to review and advise. The survey confirms that email has become the common communications medium for business professionals, and yet many users struggle to make their messages effective.

Another frequently used medium is PowerPoint, a presentation tool that generates widespread criticism and yet has become indispensable to millions of business professionals. Learning to master this medium will also give you a competitive edge.

A surprising finding was the relatively low number of respondents who write proposals on the job. While the production of these documents is often led by a sales or marketing specialist, almost every student and employee can benefit from understanding the basics of how to structure, draft, and present a successful proposal.

In fact, if new employees had such direction, they might feel freer to pursue proposals and new business initiatives. The technology abounds: commercial dictation software on computers, iPads, and smart phones, along with free and inexpensive apps, is easily available. So why the reluctance to adopt this technique? Do only doctors and lawyers dictate their reports today? After all, what is writing if not visible, literate speech? The best writing is not merely talk, but perfected talk.

Watson, come here—I want you. It did so again with the advent of the computer. While it is not a panacea for the writing woes that stem from muddled thinking, incomplete knowledge of readers, and weak grammar, such a method of generating business messages may indeed help you get better and faster at imagining your audiences, at writing with the natural rhythms of conversation, and at finding writing a less onerous task.

Many managers complain frequently about the writing that comes across their desks, but few studies have asked workplace writers themselves to rate the efficacy of their writing and to share their perceptions. This survey attempted to elicit those perceptions and to infer what these comments suggest about how to improve your writing and your attitude toward it.

The proliferation of computers and smart phones, with the ability to text and tweet has resulted in more people writing than ever before—but it has not resulted in better writers. Note: Survey analysis conducted by Laura Hoffman, M. In almost any career or area of business, written communication is a key to success. Effective writing can prevent wasted time, wasted effort, aggravation, and frustration.

If people feel they are listened to and able to get answers from the firm and its representatives, their opinion will be favorable. Skillful writing and an understanding of how people respond to words are central to accomplishing this goal. How do we display skillful writing and a good understanding of how people respond to words?

Following are some suggestions. What do you observe that may act as a barrier to communication? Then there is the lack of adherence to basic vocabulary and syntax rules.

One significant barrier to effective written communication is failure to sweat the small stuff. Spelling errors and incorrect grammar may be considered details, but they reflect poorly on you and, in a business context, on your company. Making errors is human, but making a habit of producing error-filled written documents makes negative consequences far more likely to occur. When you write, you have a responsibility to self-edit and pay attention to detail.

In the long run, correcting your mistakes before others see them will take less time and effort than trying to make up for mistakes after the fact. You must monitor carrying costs and keep them under control. Ship any job lots of more than 25 to us at once.

Words mean different things to different people in different contexts. Did you understand the message in the example? Sato, a manager from Japan who is new to the United States. The message came from his superiors at Kumitomo America, a firm involved with printing machinery for the publishing business in Japan.

Sato delegated the instructions in English as shown above to Ms. Brady, who quickly identified there were three lots in excess of twenty-five and arranged for prompt shipment. Your quarterly inventory report indicates you are carrying 40 lots which you were supposed to ship to Japan.

You must not violate our instructions. As Sullivan relates, it is an example of one word, or set of words, having more than one meaning. In other words, Kumitomo wanted all lots with twenty-five or more to be shipped to Japan. Forty lots fit that description. Brady interpreted the words as written, but the cultural context had a direct impact on the meaning and outcome.

You might want to defend Ms. Brady and understand the interpretation, but the lesson remains clear. Moreover, cultural expectations differ not only internationally, but also on many different dimensions from regional to interpersonal. Someone raised in a rural environment in the Pacific Northwest may have a very different interpretation of meaning from someone from New York City.

To a New Yorker, however, downtown may be a direction, not a place. This example involves two individuals who differ by geography, but we can further subdivide between people raised in the same state from two regions, two people of the opposite sex, or two people from different generations.

The combinations are endless, as are the possibilities for bypassing. While you might think you understand, requesting feedback and asking for confirmation and clarification can help ensure that you get the target meaning. In business, he notes that managers often incorrectly assume communication is easier than it is, and fail to anticipate miscommunication.

As writers, we need to keep in mind that words are simply a means of communication, and that meanings are in people, not the words themselves. Knowing which words your audience understands and anticipating how they will interpret them will help you prevent bypassing.

As we noted, the student neglected to identify himself or herself and tell the instructor which class the question referred to. Format is important, including headers, contact information, and an informative subject line. This is just one example of how the nonverbal aspects of a message can get in the way of understanding. Other nonverbal expressions in your writing may include symbols, design, font, and the timing of delivering your message.

Suppose your supervisor has asked you to write to a group of clients announcing a new service or product that directly relates to a service or product that these clients have used over the years. What kind of communication will your document be? Will it be sent as an e-mail or will it be a formal letter printed on quality paper and sent by postal mail?

Each of these choices involves an aspect of written communication that is nonverbal. While the words may communicate a formal tone, the font may not.

The paper chosen to represent your company influences the perception of it. An e-mail may indicate that it is less than formal and be easily deleted. As another example, suppose you are a small business owner and have hired a new worker named Bryan. You need to provide written documentation of asking Bryan to fill out a set of forms that are required by law.

Or should you wait until he has been at work for a couple of hours, then bring him the forms in hard copy along with a printed memo stating that he needs to fill them out? There are no right or wrong answers, but you will use your judgment, being aware that these nonverbal expressions are part of the message that gets communicated along with your words. Do you review what you write? Do you reflect on whether it serves its purpose? Where does it miss the mark? If you can recognize it, then you have the opportunity to revise.

Writers are often under deadlines, and that can mean a rush job where not every last detail is reviewed. This means more mistakes, and there is always time to do it right the second time. Go over each step in detail as you review. A mental review of the task and your performance is often called reflection. Reflection is not procrastination. It involves looking at the available information and, as you review the key points in your mind, making sure each detail is present and perfect.

Reflection also allows for another opportunity to consider the key elements and their relationship to each other. When you revise your document, you change one word for another, make subtle changes, and improve it.

What would make it visually attractive while continuing to communicate the message? If you are limited to words only, then does each word serve the article or letter? No extras, but just about right. To overcome barriers to communication, pay attention to details; strive to understand the target meaning; consider your nonverbal expressions; and review, reflect, and revise. Bypassing in managerial communication. Business Horizons, 34 1 , 71— You may think that some people are simply born better writers than others, but in fact writing is a reflection of experience and effort.

If you think about your successes as a writer, you may come up with a couple of favorite books, authors, or teachers that inspired you to express yourself. You may also recall a sense of frustration with your previous writing experiences. It is normal and natural to experience a sense of frustration at the perceived inability to express oneself.

The emphasis here is on your perception of yourself as a writer as one aspect of how you communicate. Most people use oral communication for much of their self-expression, from daily interactions to formal business meetings.

You have a lifetime of experience in that arena that you can leverage to your benefit in your writing. Martin Luther King Jr. Violence comes in many forms, but is often associated with frustration born of the lack of opportunity to communicate. Rick Taylor. Communication professionals work in a rapidly changing environment that requires them to update their abilities throughout their career. When Eduardo goes to visit the team in Palo Alto he begins to tell Mark all about the progress he has made with the advertisers but instead he is told all about the work that Sean and Mark had accomplished and is essentially told that his time and work in New York will not be needed.

A properly formatted subject line Do not add square brackets, parentheses, or anything else around tags. Organizational Socialization and Commitment: He was in charge of all finances and bank accounts for the company. Modern English has case forms in pronouns he, him, his and a few verb endings I have, he hasbut Old English had case endings in nouns as well, and verbs had more person and number endings.

Retrieved 11 21,from Wikipedia: Many people use the subject line to decide whether they want to read a message, and some use the tags to filter messages. A survey of MBA students with work experience from across the USA helps to illustrate some of the problems that communication breakdown can cause. Norse influence was strongest in the Northeastern varieties of Old English spoken in the Danelaw area around York, which was the centre of Norse colonisation; today these features are still particularly present in Scots and Northern English.

Communication-Thomas N. Huckin Developed for use by non-native speakers of. English enrolled in Technical Writing and. Communication courses.