Technical documents? They come in all forms and sizes: market research studies; project tracking reports; phone system instructions; job descriptions. Even an inter-office memo explaining a change in policy. Any kind of objective, informative writing counts as a technical piece.

Why you? Because there's so much riding on your ability to write this kind of document; If the writing you and your people do is confusing and hard to follow, readers stop reading (no matter how much time or research went into it).

But when your writing is clear and to-the-point, your internal and external clients will look forward to reading documents you've authored.

Problem is, the odds are against you.

Most people cringe when a technical-looking document lands on their desk. After all, who wants to wade through long paragraphs filled with tedious details? It's not easy to translate technical terms and difficult data into everyday English that people will want to read.

But this workshop will turn the table in your favor. Your staff will discover a powerful, proven writing system designed specifically for technical assignments. And you'll learn specific skills to help you:

	Sort information, organize your thoughts and cut to the core of a complex issue
	Write in language that matches your readers' level of experience and understanding
	Summarize difficult data and intricate details in a crisp, concise overview
	Create strong transitions that keep your readers moving from one point to the next
	Use design principles that grab attention and guide your readers where you want them to go
	Create illustrations, charts, graphs — even multimedia visuals — that support your writing and help clear up confusing material

	Your thoughts will be better organized — enabling readers to make better-informed decisions.
	You'll make your point quickly and clearly, saving valuable time for everyone.
	Your names on a document will translate to "Read me now" in the minds of the people you're writing to.

	Marketing, finance and budget analysts
	Managers, supervisors and team leaders
	Corporate communications personnel
	Operations and I/S people
	Scientists, engineers, technical specialists
	Researchers, lab techs and students
	Computer programmers, service and sales people

Whoever does the "write-ups" for your team projects, reports or analyses will benefit from this training.

For anyone who writes:

	Progress reports
	Job/task descriptions
	Project results
	Analyses and recommendations
	Product descriptions
	Research reports
	Feasibility studies
	Instructions/manuals
	Abstracts
	Executive summaries

Program Agenda

Setting a clear course, so your writing stays on target

	"Clustering";"mind-mapping";and other handy techniques for sorting and structuring technical information
	How to size up your readers' knowledge base and experience level
	2 questions you should answer before you begin to write
	What tone should you take? Factors to help you decide
	When to use the memo-length, short or formal formats for your reports

	"Formulas" for structuring various types of technical documents
	When to put information in an appendix
	2 reasons to add an executive summary — and when to write an abstract instead
	4 elements you should always include in abstracts and summaries

	Proven ways to bust through writer's block
	Writing descriptions that detail physical characteristics or give measurable "specs"
	Exercise: Practice writing a technical description (for a job, object, function — whatever is most relevant to you)
	How to write tight technical reports
	How to write a condensed overview that helps people decide whether or not to read your entire document
	Ways to make dry manuals reader-friendly
	Specific "dos and don'ts" for writing technical instructions and manuals

	Questions to help you judge your first draft
	When it's OK to use industry jargon — and when to write in layman's language
	Exercise: Look at some technical writing samples, and see if you can pinpoint where the message gets muddied — and how to clear it up

	Specific words to avoid in technical writing (they undermine your objectivity)
	How to strengthen transitions, so readers move more easily from point to point
	Exercise: Practice writing instructions for completing a simple task — then revise them so they're even easier to follow

	How to use headings, subheads and captions to help your readers find their way around your writing
	Simple ways to add "visual relief" to text-heavy documents
	Tips on using pie charts, bar graphs, line graphs and flow charts
	How to use diagrams and "schematics" to illustrate physical elements (and the relationship between them)
	The finer points of page layout:

-	White space, margins, line spacing
-	Justification, borders
-	Bullet lists, symbols and "dingbats"

Adding emphasis with fonts, callouts, boxes and shading

Back to the "Corporate Seminar" Index
Contact us and bring this Seminar to your organization