Technical Communication

Introduction
The exchange of information, ideas
and knowledge between sender and
receiver through an accepted code of
symbols.
Two way process
The term communication, derived
from a Latin term communicare.
Sender-Encoding-Mediums-Decoding-
Receiver-Feedback
 Meaning of
Communication
Language employs a combination of
words to communicate ideas in a
meaningful way.
By changing the word order in a
sentence, you can change its
meaning.

I eat rice only.

I only eat rice.
 Process of
Communication

Sender Medium Receiver

encode decode

Feedback
 Forms of Technical
Communication
Oral
Written
 Oral Forms
Presentations
Face-to-face Group
Telephone Talk discussions
Meetings Interviews
Seminars Video
Conferences conferences
Dictation Voice
Instructions
conferences
 Written Forms
Memos Reports
Letters Proposals
E-mails Research papers
Faxes Bulletins
Notices Brochures
Circulars Manuals
Newsletters In-house journals
 What is Technical
Communication?
Technical communicationis a means to
convey scientific, engineering, or other
technical information
Individuals in a variety of contexts and
with varied professional credentials
engage in technical communication.
Some individuals are designated as
technical communicators ortechnical
writers.
These individuals use a set of methods to
research, document, and present technical
 Technical communicators may put the
information they capture into paper
documents, web pages, computer-based
training, digitally stored text, audio, video,
and othermedia.
Whatever the definition of technical
communication, the overarching goal of
the practice is to create easily accessible
information for a specific audience.
Technical communicators generally tailor
information to a specific audience, which
may be subject matter experts,
 General & Technical
Communication
Contains a general Contains a
message technical message
Informal in style Mostly formal in
and approach style and approach
No set pattern Follows a set
Mostly oral pattern
Not always for a Both oral and
specific audience written
No use of technical Always for a
terms or graphics specific audience
Frequently involves
jargons, graphics
etc.
The Five Cs of Technical
Communication
Clear
Correct
Concise
Consistent
Comprehensive
Levels of Communication
Sending
Receiving
Understanding
Agreement
Action
 Level 1 - Sending
At this level, you simply send, transmit, or
share your message.
Whether this is an email, or a face-to-face
conversation, you simply sent your
message.
Just because you sent your message,
doesnt mean it was heard, read, or
understood.
Where some people fail is they send
emails or give our orders and think that
was communicating.
 Level 1 - Sending
If you dont care about whether your
message lands, or whether you have buy
in, or if there are any concerns, then
stopping here makes perfect sense.
If, on the other hand, you do care that the
recipient heard you or read your message,
understands what you want or mean, and
leads to some sort of agreement or action,
and has a level of buy in, then you have
more work to do.
 Level 2 - Receiving
This is where the message is received.
This is where an acknowledgement helps.
As the sender, you can ask whether they
read your message.
Or if its face-to-face, you can ask them to
play back what they heard.
 Level 3 - Understanding
This is where a lot of communication
conflict or breakdowns happen.
You dont have to agree at this stage.
Whats important is to first make sure the
message is understood.
What you said, may not be what they
heard.
 Level 3 - Understanding
If you are the receiver and you want
to practice your empathic listening
skills, this is a great place to say,
What I hear you saying is ,
And check that you heard the
message as it was intended.
This is also a great place to get any
concerns on the table.
Its also a great place to hear both
sides, if there is more than one side.
 Level 3 - Understanding
Often there might seem like there are
multiple sides, but often this is just
different perspectives.
This is when people talk past each
other.
A simple rule of thumb here is, Seek
first to understand, then to be
understood.
 Level 4 - Agreement.
Its the perfect place to focus on
wants, needs, and concerns.
Seek the win win, or find the 3rd
alternative.
Agree to disagree, if need be, and
just because you dont agree, does
not mean you have to be
disagreeable.
 Level 5 - Action
This is a great outcome for great
communication.
It leads to some sort of action or
decision.
This is a spectrum of action from
now is not the time to who does
what or when with increasing clarity.
Sometimes the best action simply is
a decision that both parties agree to.
 Conclusion
Your communication skills can make
a difference between being hired and
fired.

Will will find a way.

Practice makes a man (almost)

perfect