Saturday, May 31 - Sunday, June 1, 2008
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
TechComm 101 - presented by Leah Guren
Technical communication is an exciting and challenging career that offers unlimited opportunity for professional development. But to succeed, it’s not enough to learn a desktop publishing or Help authoring tool—you need to master the analysis process. This is a thinking person’s dream career!
TechComm 101 is the fastest, most efficient way to jump-start your career in technical communication. It covers key theory that you can immediately apply to your work, as well as giving you the skills you need to continue to learn and grow.
Each element of theory is presented with hands-on exercises, real-world examples, and plenty of discussion. The seminar is sure to leave you feeling enthusiastic and well-prepared to get started in the field.
Objectives
- Understand the role of the technical communicator
- Identify how TC writing differs from other kinds of writing
- Correct common mistakes in writing
- Master the correct writing style for TC
- Be able to target your audience
- Recognize and treat hazards in documentation
- Learn and apply key theory for TC work
- Write effective definitions and procedures
- Develop visual design skills
- Identify the purpose and key elements of main TC documentation types
- Apply professional tool techniques
Intended Audience
Anyone new to the field
Anyone working in the field without formal training
Professionals returning to writing positions after a hiatusSyllabus
Day 1
| Topics | Concepts |
|---|---|
| Introduction | Personal introductions and goals. The role of TC in the company and for the user; how TC differs from other forms of writing. |
| Golden Rule #1: Paper Is Permanent | Avoiding mistakes that can detract from documentation; review of grammar and punctuation issues. |
| Golden Rule #2: Know Your Audience | Conducting audience analysis, and key techniques for discovering your target audience. |
| Golden Rule #3: Highlight Hazards | Protecting users and the company through effective cautions and warnings. |
| Golden Rule #4: Break It Out | Using design and layout to help communicate information in a document. |
| Golden Rule #5: Don’t Write Blind | Learning to ask the right questions and analyze information; learning the product and process yourself. |
| Golden Rule #6: Be Consistent | Understanding how consistency helps users follow documentation more easily. |
| Golden Rule #7: Signpost | Making information accessible within the document. |
| Golden Rule #8: Don’t Violate Standards | Analyzing standards and applying them. |
| Golden Rule #9: Contemplate Before You Illustrate | Adding graphics that help rather than confuse; a review of the basic rules. |
| Golden Rule #10: Cut the Fluff | Trimming the unnecessary words out of documents to make them more useful. |
Day 2
| Topics | Concepts |
|---|---|
| Documentation Types | Understanding the functional purpose, key elements, and deliverables associated with the most common types of TC projects: user guides, installation guides, maintenance manuals, reference manuals, tutorials, specs, white papers, release notes, and online Help. |
| Useful Definitions | Learning how to define technical terms is important. |
| Effective Procedures | Writing task-based documentation (step-by-step procedures) is an essential core skill. |
| Design and Layout | Designing good documents by understanding the basics of layout: fonts, paragraphs, white space, chunking, plumb lines, visual hierarchies, nesting, and mating. |
| Tools and the Professional | Working with tools properly is the hallmark of a professional. Understand concepts of automation, consistency, templates, etc. |
| Editing | Writing for clarity, avoiding ambiguity, and being proactive in flagging suspicious data makes better documents. |
| Real World Expectations | Where do you go from here? Preparing for an ongoing learning experience in your new career. |
| Conclusion | Wrapping it up. |
Prerequisites
There are no prerequisites for this course, other than decent written English and the ability to understand lectures and reading material in English. We assume that all participants are either in the field or trying to enter the field.
The Instructor
Leah Guren entered the field of technical communication in 1980. Her extensive experience has allowed her to develop key training programs, including the course for new TCs run by In Other WORDS, one of Israel’s leading technical communication companies. She also conducts seminars for experienced technical communicators, engineers, and managers worldwide.
As an internationally-recognized professional speaker, Leah is known for her ability to bring dry theory to life with practical examples and plenty of humor.
What They Say
—“The TechComm 101 session was highly successful. Leah is a very organized and clear speaker, and the material was appropriate, useful, and very well delivered. I came away from the two-day course very pleased with the investment. The approach to technical communication was very much what I needed to hear as someone with relevant skills moving into the field from unrelated lines of work.”
— “Leah is #1. She is a guru! I have attended a few of her seminars and courses.”
— “What can I say except that this workshop met and exceeded my wildest expectations, both from a professional and managerial aspect. You managed to bridge the wide range of interests and needs, providing informative, useful (and sometimes humorous) knowledge to everyone.”
— “This is the first seminar that I have learned so much from, and everything is very applicable and useful.”
— “You are my Yoda!”