Attend this INTENSIVE TWO-DAY COURSE and you’ll learn how to ...

• Draft technical reports, instructions, specifications, user manuals, abstracts and more
• Add clarity and precision to every technical document you produce from now on
• Write common elements of technical communication, from definitions to conditional statements
• Cut your technical writing time by up to 30 percent without sacrificing accuracy
• Use 12 questions to analyze your technical document for effectiveness
• Produce user-friendly, easily scannable technical content for the Web
• Build an outline to organize technical content with ease and create a structure that makes data readily accessible
• Convey volumes of technical data by choosing the right charts, graphs, and tables
• Simplify complex information using examples, illustrations, and analogies
• Present numbers and statistics in easy-to-understand ways
• Spot every error with techniques professional proofreaders use

Anyone who writes or edits technical documents will benefit from this seminar, including …

• Technical writers across all professions and industries
• Editors of technical content of any kind
• Writers of medical or scientific articles
• IT professionals
• Engineers
• Information architects
• Web developers
• Copywriters
• Business writers
• Documentation specialists
• Anyone who must communicate complex information in a way others can understand and use

Essential elements for technical communication success

• Fundamentals of effective technical writing: a brief overview
• Examples of excellent technical writing and why each one works
• Common components of technical writing, from definitions to physical descriptions to conditional statements
• Defining the purpose and scope of your technical project before you begin
• Key factors you must know about your audience to create a document that is easily understood and usable
• Tips for cutting your writing time by at least 30 percent
  

Assembling and organizing data for maximum impact and usability

• Determining content: what to include and what to eliminate
• Organizing technical data by building an outline
• Using your outline to create sections, subsections, or sidebars for ease in finding information
• How to handle a table of contents, index, and glossary with your outline as your guide
• Common documentation errors and how to avoid them
  

How to write clear, concise, userfriendly technical documents

• The death of technical-ese: how to achieve a more informal writing style
• Using present tense and active verbs to write directly and clearly
• How many words should your average sentence length be in technical writing?
• Cranking out a quick first draft
• Proven strategies for eliminating ambiguity and slashing wordy phrases
• When to use jargon and technical terminology and when to avoid it
• Writing clear and specific headlines that draw your readers’ attention
  

Enhance understanding illustrations, charts, and graphics

• How to write bullets and lists for maximum readability
• Examples of presenting statistics and numbers effectively
• Techniques for using examples, illustrations, analogies to simplify complex information and introduce new concepts
• Charts, Graphs, and Tables 101: best practices for using them to convey technical data
• Pointers for choosing diagrams that communicate volumes
• Structures and formats proven to improve readability

Guidelines and formats for Specific types of technical writing

• Technical reports
• Project proposals
• Instructions
• Specifications
• User and other types of technical manuals
• Policies and procedures
• Technical journal articles and white papers
• Abstracts
• Where to find resources and templates for other technical communication projects
  

SPECIAL SECTION: Techniques for technical writing success online

• A quick overview of challenges inherent in technical writing for the Web
• A three-step formula for producing accessible, usable technical content online
• Sentence, paragraph, and documument stuctures proven effective online
• How to summarize technical documents for easy scanning
• Examples of technical print communication rewritten for Web use
• Methods for displaying technical content on Web pages so people can find information quickly

Editing, proofreading, and testing techniques to ensure accuracy and effectiveness

• Keep it concise! Substantially reduce your word count to enhance readability
• Resources for grammar, punctuation, and usage guidelines
• Rewrite, rewrite, rewrite: strategies for improving each draft
• Editing “musts” for producing clear and precise technical communication
• Fact-checking methods that help guarantee 100 percent accuracy
• Techniques professional proofreaders use to spot every error
• Ask 12 questions to analyze your technical writing for effectiveness
• Proven methods for testing technical documents on others to ensure usability
• How to create a corporate style guide to ensure consistency in your technical documents

"The instructor was motivating, pleasant and extremely knowledgeable. It was time well spent!"
– S. Ross,
Technical Writer & Trainer

"I was very happy with the class. The time flew by and I feel very satisfied with the materials presented."
– K. Kieffer,
Sr. Pharmacy Tech CPhT

"I forgot how important writing was to me until National Seminars reopened my eyes."
– D. Armstrong,
Finance Coordinator

"This class is one of the best I have ever attended."
– A. Sterling,
Administrative Assistant

"Great speaker! Great Presentation! Incredible Knowledge!"
– K. Smith, I.T.,
Safety and Health Manager