1. Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved. Chapter 1 Technical and Professional Communication in the Workplace

2. Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved. What is Technical and 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

3. Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved. Technical and Professional Communication ‣ Is significant in the workplace ‣ Is done by all workers ‣ Is a part of everyday life ‣ Is an activity and a process ‣ Involves problem solving

4. Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved. Technical and Professional Communication ‣ Is vital to the success of business ‣ Communicates highly complex information to help in a highly complex world ‣ Requires careful selection of content ‣ Requires coherent and clear delivery of information ‣ Requires precise arrangement of information

5. Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved. Technical and Professional Communication ‣ Includes simple, everyday information and documents ‣ Like recipes, road signs, product labels ‣ Includes lengthier, more complex documents ‣ Like computer manuals, detailed reports, and NASA specifications

6. Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved. Poor Communication Poorly written technical documents alert us to the importance of effective communication

7. Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved. Writing Across Workplaces ‣ Assists in the transfer of goods and services, locally, nationally, and globally ‣ Consists of sectors: sales, manufacturing service ‣ Relies on effective communication ‣ Human relationships ‣ Written, spoken, and visual

8. Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved. Workplace Writers ‣ Make complex information understandable to audiences who need it ‣ Add credibility and competitiveness to their companies by enhancing communication and documentation practices ‣ Reduce internal costs of production, support, and development by making communication more clear and efficient ‣ Bring individuals together within and outside the company ‣ Help negotiate and create the knowledge that users need

9. Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved. “Workplace writers” are all of the employees who communicate with an organization, not only those officially called professional or technical writers

10. Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved. Technical Writing Consists of ‣ Documents ‣ Writing as thing: like memos, web sites, and reports ‣ Activity ‣ Writing as action: like brainstorming, drafting, and editing ‣ Problem Solving ‣ Writing as a combination of the above to solve problems

11. Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved. Effective Documents ‣ Clear and correct ‣ Concise ‣ Professional ‣ Aware of audience ‣ Rhetorical ‣ Ethical ‣ Technology Oriented ‣ Visual ‣ Research Oriented

12. Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved. Workplace Problems ‣ Questions to be considered or addressed ‣ Situations requiring action or information ‣ Not necessarily negative or unfavorable

13. Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved. Two Types of Problems Facing Workplace Writers ‣ External Problems ‣ Issues that require information and action to solve ‣ Rhetorical Problems ‣ Issues on how best to communicate information

14. Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved. The Problem-Solving Approach (See Page 14) ‣ Plan ‣ Research ‣ Draft ‣ Revise ‣ Distribute

15. Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved. Real World Problems ‣ The PSA can help to solve problems in the workplace ‣ Hypothetical example: Landfill (Page 14) ‣ Real example: Mars Climate Orbiter (Page 15) ‣ Many other real examples (Explore, Page 16)