1. Characteristics of Technical Communication

2. Technical Communication
Addresses Particular Readers
Helps Readers Solve Problems
Reflects an Organizations Goals and Culture
Is Produced Collaboratively
Uses Design to Increase Readability
Consists of Words, Graphics or Both
Is Produced Using High-Tech Tools

3. Addresses Particular Readers
Establish a profile of your audience
Structure the document to make it easy for this particular group to locate and understand the information they seek.

4. Helps Readers Solve Problems
Technical Communication is used for people to analyze a situation and solve a problem.
Example: You read a college catalog to find out the procedures for registration, what is covered in a particular course and requirements for a major.

5. Reflects an Organizations Goals and Culture
Prince Andrew produces newsletters, newspapers, classroom rules and regulations, school website, parentwise etc. to reflect the goals and culture of the school and the students who attend here.

6. Produced Collaboratively
People work as a team to produce complicated documents.
Collaboration can take many forms from having a colleague review your two page memo to working with a team of a dozen technical professionals on a 200 page catalog.

7. Uses Design to Increase Readability
Technical Communicators use design features to make their documents more effective.
Typography
Spacing
Color
Special Paper
Etc.

8. Design Features Have Three Basic Purposes
To make the document look attractive and professional
To help the reader navigate the document
To help the reader understand the document.

9. Consists of Words or Graphics or Both
In technical communication, graphic help the writer perform five main functions:
Make the document more interesting and appealing to readers
Communicate and reinforce difficult concepts
Communicate instructions and descriptions of objects and processes
Communicate large amounts of quantifiable data
Communicate with nonnative speakers of English

10. Is Produced Using High-Tec Tools
Every phase of the production of technical documents involves high-tech tools such as the personal computer.
Technical communicators also rely on software such as:
Word Processing Software
Graphics Software
Desktop Publishing Software

11. Growth of Technology
Technology has transformed both the processes we use to produce technical communication and the way we publish it.
Growth of the web, CD-ROMs and DVD’s with their massive storage capabilities have made it practical to deliver large quantities of information – including text, sound, video and animation inexpensively.