Technical Communications Essentials

Successfully communicating technical information carries a unique set of challenges. You have to convey complex and highly specialized concepts to audiences that may have only a partial understanding of what you're talking about (or may not understand at all), and these technical concepts can often have dramatic real-world effects. To operate effectively in this environment, you need to optimize your writing abilities.

In this course, you'll learn tools and techniques that will help you communicate technical information more clearly, more concisely, and with better outcomes. You'll use the 6 Cs to improve your writing style, including appropriate tone and voice. Use the Path to Understanding communication model to identify your audience and their needs and to determine how to meet your communication objectives.

You'll also learn how to assess your audience's level of technical understanding and tailor your communication to meet it. Additional topics include how to communicate to all levels of the organization; the purpose of jargon -- when to use it and when not to; how to use visuals to underscore your written content; and how to write detailed, yet highly readable documentation that can be used by downstream users. You'll also learn principles for creating documentation for different modalities.

• Adjust your writing style to meet the needs of both technical and non-technical audiences
• Use graphics to create impact and enhance readability of technical documents
• Interview technical experts to get the best information for producing technical content
• Write clear, concise, and helpful user guides, FAQs, glossaries, and other technical communication products

Business professionals, IT Project Managers, Project Managers, Project Coordinators, IT Project staff, Business Analysts, System Analysts, IT directors

We highly recommend bringing a laptop to class should you prefer working on your device or bring an external drive if you wish to save the documents completed during the in-class exercises.

We highly recommend bringing a laptop to class should you prefer working on your device or bring an external drive if you wish to save the documents completed during the in-class exercises.