Add to your communication skills with a technical writing course
You may not think you’re a technical writer, but most of us are. Most of us do it in some form. And a technical writing course with us will help you do it at your best.
This article explains:
- what technical writing is
- how it can benefit your career
- what the easiest way to learn is.
What is technical writing?
Technical writing is ‘how to’ writing. It involves writing documents that instruct, explain and help. This often includes:
- policies and guidelines (to help staff apply for leave or follow WHS guidelines)
- procedures (to explain how to bake a cake or unjam the photocopier)
- manuals (to instruct people how to assemble furniture or install software)
- reports (to explain what went wrong and how to avoid it next time)
- executive summaries (to help executives save time)
- signage (to explain what you can and can’t recycle)
- terms and conditions (to explain what your agreement includes).
A technical writer may write for different audiences. They may write for an audience familiar with the topic, for example a recipe for fellow chefs. But they also write for a general audience, for example instructions for installing new software on your computer.
In both cases, it’s vital that the writer communicates their instructions, explanation or advice in a way that the audience can understand. This is why many technical communicators choose to write in plain language.
How can a technical writing course benefit your career?
According to Mark Tredinnick and Geoff Whyte, good technical writing ‘can be the difference between safety and injury (life and death, even), product satisfaction and consumer rage, staff engagement and organisational malaise’. Learning to do it well is vital to your career, and the best way to do it well is to use plain language.
By using plain language, you’ll ensure that people:
- are motivated to read what you’ve written
- understand your instructions, explanation or advice
- follow your document to the letter.
This means you’ll be remembered for your technical writing that resulted in:
- less reading time
- fewer mistakes
- better compliance
- more efficient practices.
A technical writing course can also help you upgrade your skills, ticking that continuing professional development box or allowing you to move into a new field. Technical writing jobs are available in many fields, for example:
- e-learning
- engineering
- computer software and hardware
- finance
- health.
Turn writing at work into writing that works with our ISO-aligned plain language system.
What is the easiest way to learn technical writing?
The easiest way to learn technical writing is to attend a technical writing course with us. We have workshops covering:
These courses align with Plain language – Part 1: Governing principles and guidelines (ISO 24495-1).
Our workshops are available online and in person wherever you are around Australia. We also have training facilities in most major cities: Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne and Perth.
If you’re looking for more technical writing advice, check out the Australian Style Guide. This free resource covers the basics of plain language and most style questions that come up in workplace writing.
To find out more about our training options or to book now, contact our friendly team. And for help editing your technical writing, contact our Consulting and Editing team.
