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Engineering Communications without Tears: Writing & Presenting Made Easy

David E. GoldbergIllinois Foundry for Innovation in Engineering Education University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignUrbana, Illinois 61801 [email protected]

© David E. Goldberg 2010

mailto:[email protected]

Motivation

• Engineers often relish technical work.• Don’t necessarily like to communicate it: Cool

Hand Luke.• Need to understand

– Why we don’t like to write or present.– Learn to separate criticism & content

generation.– Master fundamental structures of

engineering & business communication.• Mission nearly impossible: Writing & presenting

complex, but can quickly survey success keys.• Focus on writing here, but realize same

principles apply to presentation.• Start with the prime directive of writing.

Paul Newman (1925-2008)


Prime Directive of Writing

• Writing process:• How many like to write? Why

or why not?• Key problem: Endless circle of

write and criticize.• Prime directive is to just write.• Separate writing into phase I,

generation, phase II, quickplanning, and phase III, revision.

• Must practice. How?

StarFleet Prime Directive (General Order #1): Don’t interfere with pre-warp cultures.


Modeling Phase I: Freewriting

• In Elbow’s Writing with Power freewriting exercise a key.

• Freewriting = writing without crossing off on anything that comes to mind for fixed interval.

• Do it for 3 minutes.

• Rules:– No stopping. Repeat nonsense phrase if

stuck.

– No crossing out. Not one word.

• Direct style freewriting at particular task© David E. Goldberg 2010

Phase II: Quickplanning

• Full outlines can inhibit good writing.• Use quickplanning.• Like creating bullet points for a ppt presentation.• Do it hierarchically as necessary:– For the whole piece.– Section by section.

• Subject to discovery of logic, content, and interrelationship.


Phase III: Cut-and-Paste Revision

• Just writing doesn’t create a written piece.• Phase III: Cut-and-paste revision.• Try it on physical paper first (no computers

initially).• Steps:

– Write every other line.– On one side of sheet.– Use scissors and glue stick.– Take directed “freewriting” as raw material.– Cut, paste, and interpolate between the lines.– Write new paragraphs as necessary.


Key Δ & Structures of Biz & Engin Writing

• How is BizTech writing different from LAS writing?• Business/technical writers are all busy:– Need cues to where they are (roadmaps, titles, key

words).– May not read everything (elements self-

contained).– Different readers may read differently (techies vs.

CEO).• Two key structures to promote effective BizTech

reading writing: B-P-R & lists and amplification.© David E. Goldberg 2010

B-P-R: Fundamental Structure of Writing

• Forget freshmen English: No clever essays here.• What should I write about? How to start?• Every piece, every section need:– Background (history & motivation).– Purpose (of the piece, section).– Roadmap (of the remainder).

• Army saying: Tell ‘em what you’re going to say, say it, and tell ‘em what you said.


Background

• Sometimes called motivation.• The fundamental discontinuity.• What is the context of what’s coming? • Project history & background, motivation, times,

dates, players.• But remember, the clock is ticking.


Rhetorical Purpose

• “The purpose of this report (memo, section, letter, e-mail, whatever) is X.”

• “In this report we present X.”• Say it. Not a mystery novel or freshmen essay.• Don’t confuse project purpose with rhetorical

purpose. • Rhetorical purpose is the purpose of the piece

(report, memo, section, whatever).


Roadmap

• Build a mental model or map for your reader. Tell them what is next.

• “In the remainder, we examine X, Y, and Z.”• “The remainder of the report examines X, Y, and

Z.”• If you don’t tell them where you are going, how

will they know when they get there?


B-P-R Iterated Hierarchically

• Same structure used at the beginning of the report.

• At the beginning of the section.• At the beginning of subsections.• Less context needed when you are in the middle,

but still needed.• BizTech reader may not have read previous

section.


BizTech Writer’s Friend: Lists & Amplification• Lists and amplification.• Lists can be bulleted, numbered, either broken

out or in line.• Use lists a great deal.• “In this section we cover the following 3 items:

1. Item 12. Item 23. Item 3

The remainder examines each in more detail.”• List them, then amplify each item in sequence.


Bottom Line

• Engineering & business communication is daunting:– Separate writing from revision: creative key.– Quickplan, don’t overplan.– Know that your reader/listener is busy: provide

devices like BPR and lists as aids to navigation.– Presentation uses similar structures & thought

patterns.• Can be a master engineering communicator, to

benefit of your work and career.


Engineering Communications without Tears: Writing & Presenting Made Easy

David E. GoldbergIllinois Foundry for Innovation in Engineering Education University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignUrbana, Illinois 61801 [email protected]


mailto:[email protected]

communications goldberg

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