Introduction to Technical Communications

Technical Communication
Fifteenth Edition
Chapter 1
Introduction to Technical
Communication
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

1A-2
Instructor Introduction
• Dr. Abdul Baseer Qazi, Room 2.11 ext. 3069
• Senior Associate Professor at Bahria University
• Affiliated Researcher at UNU-MERIT, Maastricht, Netherlands
• OD Consultant at SOFTOO, Islamabad
• PhD Innovation and Technology Management, Maastricht, Netherlands
• MS (Information and Communications Systems) and MBA (Technology Management)
degree holder from Germany
• Unique job experience of having worked for 4 Fortune500 companies in Germany and
the Netherlands (IBM, Siemens, NXP Semiconductors and Philips)
• Founding Member of Pakistan Innovation Foundation
• Representative of PISA in Pakistan
• Trained dozens of national and international organizations
• Author of 25+ publications, including international journals, conferences, book, case-
study and research report.
• Supervised 22+ MS Engineering Management Theses
• Founder of 7 companies, recently CEO of MindSieves.com
• Qur’anic Arabic course till QC Level 5, Teaching certification QC Level 1
• Khateeb of Islamic Center Hamburg, Germany in 2003-04
• Father of 6 (3 daughters and 3 sons)

Learning Objectives
1.1 Define technical communication
1.2 Identify the main features of technical communication
1.3 Explain the purposes of technical communication
1.4 Describe the four tasks involved in preparing effective
technical documents

What Is Technical Communication?
• Technical communication is the exchange of
information that helps people interact with technology and
solve complex problems.
• To interact with technology in so many
ways, we need information that is not only technically
accurate but also easy to understand and use.

Technical Communication Is a Digital and
a Human Activity
• People make information meaningful by thinking critically
and addressing such questions as:
–Which information is relevant to this situation?
–Can I verify the accuracy of this source?
–What does this information mean?
–What action does it suggest?
–How does this information affect me or my
colleagues?
–With whom should I share it?
–How might others interpret this information?

Technical Communication Reaches
a Global Audience
• Electronically linked, our global community shares social,
political, and financial interests.
• To connect with all readers, technical documents need to
reflect global and intercultural diversity.
• Cultures differ over which behaviors seem appropriate for
social interaction, business relationships, contract
negotiation, and communication practices.

Technical Communication Is Part of Most
Careers
• Whatever your job description, expect
to be evaluated, at least in part, on your communication
skills.
• Most professionals serve as part-time technical
communicators.
• Technical communication skills—such as the ability to
write and speak effectively, research information, work
with teams, and be persuasive—are portable.

Technical Communicators Play Many
Roles
• Full-time technical communicators serve many roles,
such as:
–Producing newsletters, pamphlets, journals, and
public relations material.
–Preparing instructional material, reports, proposals,
and scripts for industrial films.
–Preparing sales literature, publicity releases,
handbooks, catalogs, brochures, Web pages, intranet
content, articles, speeches, and oral and multimedia
presentations.

Main Features of Technical
Communication
• Technical communication is:
–Reader-centered
–Accessible and efficient
–Often produced by teams
–Delivered in paper and digital versions

Purposes of Technical Communication
• Technical communication serves three purposes that
sometimes overlap:
–1. To inform: Anticipate and answer your readers’
questions.
–2. To instruct: Enable your readers to perform certain
tasks.
–3. To persuade: Motivate your readers.

Preparing Effective Technical Documents
• The main question you must answer: “How do I prepare
the right document for this group of readers and this
particular situation?”
• The four basic tasks of an effective technical
communicator are:
1. Deliver information readers can use
2. Use persuasive reasoning
3. Weigh the ethical issues
4. Practice good teamwork

Review Questions (1 of 2)
1. What is the definition of technical communication?
2. What are some of the questions a computer can’t
answer?
3. Why is global communication important?
4. In what ways is technical communication part of most
careers?
5. What are the four main features of technical
communication?

Review Questions (2 of 2)
6. What are the three purposes of technical
communication?
7. What is the main question you must ask when
preparing a technical document?
8. What are a workplace communicator’s four basic
tasks?

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Introduction to Technical Communications

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