Intro

Intro, Ethical and Legal
Considerations, Technical
Documents, Collaboration
ENG 3302

Chapter 1. Introduction to Technical Communication ©

Table of Contents
Section Slide Number
Intro to TC 3-14
Ethical and Legal Considerations 15-33
Technical Documents 34-44
Writing Collaboratively 45-62


Technical communication
has two meanings:

• the process of making and sharing technical
information in the workplace
• a set of applications—the documents you
write and the presentations you deliver

Chapter 1. Introduction to Technical Communication © 2012 by Bedford/St. Martin's 3

You have three roles
as a communicator:

• the writer of a document
• a member of a project team
• an information resource for others


affects your career:

• Companies say communication skills are
important.
• Strong communication skills make you a more
valuable employee.


has six main characteristics:

• It addresses particular readers.
• It helps readers solve problems.
• It reflects the organization’s goals and culture.
• It is produced collaboratively.
• It uses design to increase readability.
• It consists of words or images or both.


Communicators use design features
to accomplish three basic purposes:

• to make the document look attractive and
professional
• to help readers navigate the document
• to help readers understand the document


Images help the writer
perform five main functions:

• to make the document more interesting and
appealing
• to communicate and reinforce difficult concepts
• to communicate instructions and descriptions of
objects and processes
• to communicate large amounts of quantifiable data
• to communicate with nonnative speakers


An example of technical communication

Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2005 <www.mypyramid.gov/downloads/sp-MiniPoster.pdf>.



Source: Sage Software, 2009
<http://download.act.com/act2010/
docs/act_usability_and_productivit
y_whitepaper.pdf>.



Source: Marathon
Technologies, 2010
<www.marathon1.co
m/why_marathon_vi
deo.html>.


There are eight measures of excellence
in technical communication:

• honesty
• clarity
• accuracy
• comprehensiveness
• accessibility
• conciseness
• professional appearance
• correctness

You must communicate
honestly for three reasons:

• It is the right thing to do.
• If you are dishonest, readers can get hurt.
• If you are dishonest, you and your
organization could face serious legal charges.


must be clear for two reasons:

• Unclear technical communication can be
dangerous.
• Unclear technical communication is
expensive.


Ethical and Legal
Considerations


What is ethics?

Ethics is the study of the principles of
conduct that apply to an individual or
a group.

Chapter 2. Understanding Ethical and Legal Considerations © 2012 by Bedford/St. Martin's 16

In thinking about ethical dilemmas,
four standards are useful:

• Rights—individuals’ basic needs and welfare.
• Justice—how the costs and benefits of an
action or a policy are distributed among a
group.
• Utility—the positive and negative effects that
an action or a policy has on others.
• Care—the relationships we have with other
individuals.

You have three sets of ethical obligations:

• to your employer
• to the public
• to the environment


You have five obligations to your employer:

• competence and diligence
• generosity
• honesty and candor
• confidentiality
• loyalty


Four bodies of law are relevant
to technical communication:

• copyright law
• trademark law
• contract law
• liability law


Courts consider four factors
in disputes over “fair use”:

• the purpose and character of the use,
especially whether the use is for profit
• the nature and purpose of the copyrighted
work
• the amount and substantiality of the portion of
the work used
• the effect of the use on the potential market
for the copyrighted work

Adhere to these four guidelines when
you use material from another source:

• Abide by the fair-use concept.
• Seek permission.
• Cite your sources accurately.
• Consult legal counsel if you have questions.


There are two kinds of trademarks:

• Trademark—a word, phrase, name, or symbol
that is identified with a company.
• Registered trademark—a word, phrase, name,
or symbol that the company has registered
with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.


Use four techniques to protect trademarks:

• Distinguish trademarks from other material.
• Use the trademark symbol (TM or ®).
• Use the trademarked item as an adjective, not
as a noun or a verb.
• Do not use the plural form or the possessive
form of the term.


Contract law recognizes
two kinds of warranties:

• Express warranty—a written or oral statement
that the product has a particular feature or can
perform a particular function.
• Implied warranty—a warranty that is not written
or spoken explicitly but inferred by the
purchaser.


Follow these ten guidelines
for abiding by liability laws:

• Understand the product and its likely users.
• Describe the product’s functions and
limitations.
• Instruct users on all aspects of ownership.
• Use appropriate words and graphics.
• Warn users about the risks of using or
misusing the product.

Follow these ten guidelines
for abiding by liability laws (cont.):
• Include warnings along with assertions of safety.
• Make directions and warnings conspicuous.
• Make sure that the instructions comply with
applicable company standards and local, state, or
federal statutes.
• Perform usability testing on the product and on
the instructions.
• Make sure users receive the information.


Four elements of an organization’s culture
encourage ethical and legal behavior:

• ethical leadership
• supervisor reinforcement
• peer support
• reinforced and embedded ethical values


An effective code of conduct
has three characteristics:

• It protects the public rather than members of
the organization or profession.
• It is specific and comprehensive.
• It is enforceable.


Companies have obligations
when communicating across cultures :

• They must not reinforce patterns of
discrimination in product information.
• They are not obligated to challenge the
prevailing prejudice directly.
• They must adhere to other countries’ federal
and regional laws when exporting goods and
services.


Follow these ten principles
for ethical communication:
• Abide by relevant laws.
• Abide by the appropriate professional code of
conduct.
• Abide by your organization’s policy on social
media.
• Take advantage of your employer’s ethics
resources.
• Tell the truth.

Follow these ten principles
for ethical communication (cont.):

Don’t mislead your readers.
Use design to highlight important ethical and
legal information.
• Be clear.
• Avoid discriminatory language.
• Acknowledge assistance from others.


Avoid four common types of
misleading technical communication:

• false implications
• exaggerations
• legalistic constructions
• euphemisms


Writing Technical Documents


The writing process consists of five steps:

• planning
• drafting
• revising
• editing
• proofreading

Chapter 3. Writing Technical Documents © 2012 by Bedford/St. Martin's 35

Planning involves seven steps:
• analyzing your audience
• analyzing your purpose
• generating ideas about your subject
• researching additional information
• organizing and outlining your document
• selecting an application, a design, and a delivery
method
• devising a schedule and a budget


When you draft,
follow these six suggestions:

• Get comfortable.
• Start with the easiest topics.
• Draft quickly.
• Don’t stop to get more information or to revise.
• Try invisible writing.
• Stop in the middle of a section.


Commercial templates
can lead to three problems:

• They do not always reflect the best design
principles.
• They bore readers.
• They cannot help you answer the important
questions about your document.


Identify the strengths and weaknesses
of a commercial template.


Revising entails reconsidering three items:

• your audience
• your purpose
• your subject


There are two ways to study your draft:

• studying the draft by yourself
• seeking help from others


When revising documents,
ask for help from two kinds of people:

• subject-matter experts
• current and prospective users of the
document


What is editing?

Editing is the process of checking the draft to
improve its grammar, punctuation, style, usage,
diction (word choice), and mechanics (such as
use of numbers and abbreviations).


What is proofreading?

Proofreading is the process of checking to
make sure you have typed what you meant to
type.


Writing Collaboratively


You can collaborate with others
in three basic ways:

• collaborating face to face
• collaborating electronically
• collaborating with a combination of face-to-face
meetings and electronic tools

Chapter 4. Writing Collaboratively © 2012 by Bedford/St. Martin's 46

Collaboration has six advantages:

• It draws on a greater knowledge base.
• It draws on a greater skills base.
• It provides a better idea of how the audience will read
the document.
• It improves communication among employees.
• It helps acclimate new employees to an organization.
• It motivates employees to help an organization grow.


Collaboration has six disadvantages:

• It takes more time than individual writing.
• It can lead to groupthink.
• It can yield a disjointed document.
• It can lead to inequitable workloads.
• It can reduce a person’s motivation to work hard
on the document.
• It can lead to interpersonal conflict.


Follow these seven suggestions
for managing your projects:
• Break down a large project into several
smaller tasks.
• Plan your project.
• Create and maintain an accurate schedule.
• Put your decisions in writing.
• Monitor the project.
• Distribute and act on information quickly.
• Be flexible regarding schedule and
responsibilities.

Conducting meetings involves five skills:

• listening effectively
• setting your team’s agenda
• conducting efficient meetings
• communicating diplomatically
• critiquing a team member's work


Follow these five steps to
improve your effectiveness as a listener:

• Pay attention to the speaker.
• Listen for main ideas.
• Don’t get emotionally involved with the speaker's
ideas.
• Ask questions to clarify what the speaker said.
• Provide appropriate feedback.


There are eight steps in
setting your team's agenda:

• Define the team’s task.
• Choose a team leader.
• Define tasks for each team member.
• Establish working procedures.


There are eight steps in
setting your agenda (cont.):

• Establish a procedure for resolving conflict
productively.
• Create a style sheet.
• Establish a work schedule.
• Create evaluation materials.

Chapter 4. Writing Collaboratively © 2012 by Bedford/St. Martin's

Communicating diplomatically
requires seven skills:

• Listen carefully, without interrupting.
• Give everyone a chance to speak.
• Avoid personal remarks and insults.
• Don’t overstate your position.
• Don’t get emotionally attached to your own ideas.
• Ask pertinent questions.
• Pay attention to nonverbal communication.


Critiquing a group member’s
work involves three steps:

• Start with a positive comment.
• Discuss the larger issues first.
• Talk about the document, not the writer.


Critique a draft clearly and diplomatically.


Three powerful word-processor features
can be useful in collaborative work:

• the comment feature
• the revision feature
• the highlighting feature


Electronic media are useful
collaborative tools for three reasons:

• Face-to-face meetings are not always
possible or convenient.
• Organizations can benefit when more people
can participate and share their ideas.
• Electronic communication is convenient and
often instantaneous.


Besides a word processor, there are four
main types of collaboration technologies:

• Messaging technologies
• Videoconferencing
• Wikis and shared document workspaces
• Virtual worlds


Follow these six suggestions for
conducting effective videoconferences:

•Practice using videoconferencing technology.
•Arrange for technical support at each site.
•Organize the room to encourage participation.
•Make eye contact with the camera.
•Dress as you would for a face-to-face meeting.
•Minimize distracting noises and movements.


If you use social media,
maintain a professional online presence:

• Don’t use it for nonbusiness purposes.
• Don’t divulge secure information.
• Don’t divulge private information about anyone.
• Don’t make racist or sexist comments or post pictures
of people drinking.


When collaborating across cultures,
consider that people from other cultures:

• might find it difficult to assert themselves in
collaborative teams
• might be unwilling to respond with a definite “no”
• might be reluctant to admit when they are confused or
to ask for clarification
• might avoid criticizing others
• might avoid initiating new tasks or performing
creatively


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