Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.

Chapter 1Chapter 1

Technical and Technical and Professional Professional

Communication in the Communication in the WorkplaceWorkplace

Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.

What is Technical andWhat is Technical andProfessional Communication? Professional Communication? Communication about complex, highly detailed problems, issues, or subjects in the professional world, which helps audiences visualize and understand information so they can make informed and ethical decisions or take appropriate and safe actions

Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.

What is Technical andWhat is Technical andProfessional Communication? Professional Communication? Includes simple, everyday information

Street signs Nutritional information ATM instructions

Includes lengthier, more complex documents

Computer manuals Detailed reports NASA specifications

Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.

Poor CommunicationPoor CommunicationPoorly written technical documents alert us to the importance of effective communication.

Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.

Writing in the WorkplaceWriting in the Workplace

“Workplace writers” are all of the employees who communicate with an organization, not only those officially called professional or technical writers.

Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.

Writing in the WorkplaceWriting in the Workplace

“Workplace writers” help to negotiate and create the knowledge users need by:

Creating texts that interact with various audiences

Making complex information understandable to audiences who need it

Serving as a bridge between groups, both inside and outside their organizations

Reducing internal costs of production, support, and development

Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.

Genres of Technical WritingGenres of Technical Writing

Emails & Memos Technical Definitions Websites Manuals Proposals Formal and Informal Reports

Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.

Characteristics of TechnicalCharacteristics of Technicaland Professional Writingand Professional Writing

Rhetorical Solves problems, affects an audience, and

reflects one’s credibility Audience Centered

Genre, style, level of formality, level of detail, format and length

Technology Oriented Produces from and produces for a variety of

analog and digital technologies

Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.

Characteristics of TechnicalCharacteristics of Technicaland Professional Writingand Professional Writing

Ethical Aware of consequences in the real world

Research Oriented Gathers information from a variety of sources,

from libraries and personal communication Professional

Clear and accessible, using appropriate forms and content

Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.

Characteristics of TechnicalCharacteristics of Technicaland Professional Writingand Professional Writing

Visual Pairs visual and written registers for effect

Design Centered Combines aesthetics and readability

Concise Efficient in wording

Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.

Technical and Technical and ProfessionalProfessionalWriting as an ActivityWriting as an Activity

Learning to produce technical and professional documents requires students to see writing as a PROCESS, a series of activities that lead to the production of a document.

The process of producing documents begins by considering the sorts of PROBLEMS writers encounter in the workplace.

Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.

Problem SolvingProblem Solving Problems are often defined as:

“unfavorable or disagreeable situations.”

Workplace problems are best thought of as questions to be considered or addressed.

Some “problems” may actually be positive, such as addressing how a company can best capitalize on successes.

Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.

Types of ProblemsTypes of ProblemsWriters face two sets of related problems:

Workplace Problems Issues requiring information and action to

solve

Rhetorical Problems Issues of how to best communicate

information

Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.

The Problem-SolvingThe Problem-SolvingApproachApproach

Plan Research Draft Revise Distribute