Information bank
What is technical communication?
Technical communication aims to design and produce information for the users of technical devices and applications that is both relevant and easy to use. This usually requires the designer to learn about the usage from either the users or professionals who produce these devices and applications.
The professional doing this work is called a technical communicator. However, designing and creating user guides is only a part of technical communication. Other examples include product descriptions, tutorials, user manuals, and so on.
The designed information can be anything from physically printed manuals to digitally stored instructional videos on a website or a company’s internal databank.
Employment
Technical communication professionals work in various settings, including factories, software companies, offices, etc. They can work alone, with others, or as subcontractors. A common factor to every field that needs a technical communicator is their need for documents that relate to technology produced in a suitable and appropriate format.
It can be expected that technical communicators will become more important in the future. As the role of technology continues to increase, we need professionals who can describe in a clear and helpful way how this technology is used.
Knowledge and skills
A technical communicator is expected to possess various skills and abilities, including good writing skills and the ability to transform the information into the form required by the target group. Technical communicators must also analyse their target group: for whom they are writing and what these users must know about the product or service to be able to use it properly.
Essential skills for a technical communicator include:
- Fluency in the target language
- Ability to understand technology
- Information gathering skills
- Time management skills and the ability to cope with stress
- Social skills, as information gathering is often done by consulting experts or users
- Computer skills
- Flexible learning skills, as technical communicators often work in dynamic fields where things change rapidly.