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Principles of Technical Writing

Principles of Technical Writing – 11 Major Principles of Technical Writing | Effective Technical Communication

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Principles of Effective Technical Communication

Some of the Major Principles of Technical Writing are as follows:

Your purpose should be clear:

Communicating with users of products and services is a key responsibility of the technical communicator, while taking into account the organizational goals and culture. It is the communicator’s responsibility to learn technical details quickly, explain products and services with minimal information and guidance, demonstrate excellent interpersonal communication skills during interviews with experts, and demonstrate excellent knowledge of presenting and interacting using new media.

One or more of the following purposes may be served by a communication situation: warning, commenting, comparing, informing, instructing, ordering, recording, reporting, replying, suggesting, analyzing, etc.

Be aware of your audience:

Technical communication revolves around knowing your audience. Be humane and ethical towards them. Regardless of the recipient’s ignorance, assume the recipient is intelligent. By analyzing the target receiver, the communicator can relate the purpose of the task to him or her.

A communicator is generally interested in finding out who the audience is, what their needs, interests, biases, how to reach them, why they should care about your message, and how to persuade them to act.

Communicate clearly, simply, and concisely:

A well-written essay needs correct grammar and spelling, appropriate mechanics, conciseness without redundancies, positive statements, short sentences, and short paragraphs. Communicators should be simple and clear, but they shouldn’t sacrifice certain irreplaceable technical vocabulary in pursuit of simplicity and clarity.

Ensure that details are specific, concrete, and accurate:

The act of being accurate is the act of being exact. The ability to be specific means to be particular, which includes giving detailed directions, naming people by name instead of just saying “some”, etc. A concrete description is one that evokes an image of what the description describes through vivid details.

Use an appropriate tone, approach, format, and style:

It is often necessary to work collaboratively and in groups when communicating technical information. Consensus-building and compliance with established standards are essential. The material should be organized chronologically, spatially, categorically, and incorporating multi-media elements as necessary. It may be more effective to communicate in the oral form in local languages in Nepal; highly specialized technical communication in writing may not be appropriate in many situations due to the majority of people being illiterate.

Telling isn’t enough, show it:

Use high-tech tools, illustrations, images, tables, charts, and graphs in order to make the presentation visually appealing.

Follow ethical and legal guidelines, and take cultural sensitivity into consideration:

A few examples are copyright, privacy, plagiarism, and political correctness.

Communicate in a way that is relevant, easy to use, and accessible:

You should aim to make the document timely, easy to understand or follow, and easily retrievable in the future. In order to be effective, you must first tell your audience what you intend to say, and then you must repeat what you have just said. This will increase the likelihood of the audience following you through.

Engage in collaboration:

Collaboration is the key to communication; it cannot happen without collaboration. The purpose of this is to provide feedback and to solve problems. Incorporate other perspectives regarding authority, gender issues, conflict, etc., into the communication process by encouraging others to contribute ideas and support.

Taking on challenges and correcting errors promptly is important:

In technical communication, there is a risk of making mistakes because it is a complex, rigid, and detailed process. The technical communicator should, however, be prepared to deal with such issues professionally and without grudges.

Think creatively:

A technical communicator needs to be creative in improving tasks, resolving problems, and introducing new methods.

Smirti
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