Technical Communication

Technical Communication in the Entrepreneurial Workplace

• Technical Communication: The Workplace's Central Nervous System
• Innovation, Genres, and the Technical Writing Process
• How Are Technical Communication and Entrepreneurship Related?
• Key Characteristics of Technical Communication
• Traits of Successful Entrepreneurs
• How Important Is Technical Communication?
• What You Need to Know
• Suggested Projects

Profiling Your Readers

• What Motivates People?
• Creating a Reader Profile
• Using Reader Profiles to Your Advantage
• Global and Transcultural Communication
• What You Need to Know
• Suggested Projects

Working in Teams

• The Stages of Teaming
• Forming: Strategic Planning
• Storming: Managing Conflict
• Norming: Determining Team Roles
• Performing: Improving Quality
• The Keys to Teaming
• What You Need to Know
• Suggested Projects

Managing Ethical Challenges

• What Are Ethics?
• Where Do Ethics Come From?
• Resolving Ethical Dilemmas
• Ethics in the Entrepreneurial Workplace
• Copyright Law in Technical Communication
• Cyberbullying and Cyberharassment
• What You Need to Know
• Suggested Projects

Starting Your Career

• Building Your Résumé
• Writing Effective Application Letters
• Creating a Professional Portfolio
• Finding a Job
• How to Nail an Interview
• What You Need to Know
• Suggested Projects

E-mails, Letters, and Memos

• Types of E-mails, Letters, and Memos
• Step 1: Make a Plan and Do Research
• Step 2: Decide What Kind of E-Mail, Letter, or Memo Is Needed
• Step 3: Organize and Draft Your Message
• Step 4: Choose the Style, Design, and Medium
• Using E-Mail for Transcultural Communication
• What You Need to Know
• Suggested Projects

Technical Descriptions and Specifications

• Types of Technical Descriptions
• Step 1: Make a Plan and Do Research
• Step 2: Partition Your Subject
• Step 3: Organize and Draft Your Technical Description
• Step 4: Choose the Style, Design, and Medium
• What You Need to Know
• Suggested Projects

Instructions and Documentation

• Types of Technical Documentation
• Step 1: Make a Plan and Do Research
• Step 2: Organize and Draft Your Documentation
• Step 3: Choose the Style, Design, and Medium
• Working with Transcultural Documentation
• What You Need to Know
• Suggested Projects

Proposals

• Types of Proposals
• Step 1: Make a Plan and Do Research
• Step 2: Organize and Draft Your Proposal
• Step 3: Choose the Style, Design, and Medium
• What You Need to Know
• Suggested Projects

Brief Reports

• Types of Brief Reports
• Step 1: Make a Plan and Do Research
• Step 2: Organize and Draft Your Brief Report
• Step 3: Choose the Style, Design, and Format
• What You Need to Know
• Suggested Projects

Formal Reports

• Types of Formal Reports
• Step 1: Make a Plan and Do Research
• Step 2: Organize and Draft Your Report
• Step 3: Draft the Front Matter and Back Matter
• Step 4: Choose the Style, Design, and Medium
• Using Google Drive to Collaborate on Global Projects
• What You Need to Know
• Suggested Projects

Thinking Like an Entrepreneur

• Looking for Opportunities
• Being Innovative and Generating New Ideas
• Doing Strategic Planning
• Strategic Planning with Online Calendars
• What You Need to Know
• Suggested Projects

How to Be Persuasive

• Persuading with Reasoning
• Persuading with Values
• Getting Someone to Say Yes
• Persuasion in High-Context Cultures
• What You Need to Know
• Suggested Projects

Researching in Technical Workplaces

• Beginning Your Research
• Step 1: Define Your Research Subject
• Step 2: Formulate a Research Question or Hypothesis
• Step 3: Develop a Research Methodology
• Step 4: Collect Evidence Through Sources
• Step 5: Triangulate Your Sources
• Step 6: Take Careful Notes
• Step 7: Appraise Your Evidence
• Step 8: Revise, Accept, or Abandon Your Hypothesis
• What You Need to Know
• Suggested Projects

Organizing and Drafting

• Basic Organization for Any Document
• Using Genres for Organizing and Outlining
• Organizing and Drafting the Introduction
• Organizing and Drafting the Body
• Organizing and Drafting the Conclusion
• Organizing Transcultural Documents
• What You Need to Know
• Suggested Projects

Using Plain and Persuasive Style

• What Is Style?
• Writing Plain Sentences
• Writing Plain Paragraphs
• When Is It Appropriate to Use Passive Voice?
• Persuasive Style
• Balancing Plain and Persuasive Style
• Translating and Translation Programs
• What You Need to Know
• Suggested Projects

Designing Documents and Interfaces

• Five Principles of Design
• Design Principle 1: Balance
• Design Principle 2: Alignment
• Design Principle 3: Grouping
• Design Principle 4: Consistency
• Design Principle 5: Contrast
• Transcultural Design
• What You Need to Know
• Suggested Projects

Creating and Using Graphics

• Guidelines for Using Graphics
• Displaying Data with Graphs, Tables, and Charts
• Using Photos and Drawings
• Using Transcultural Symbols
• What You Need to Know
• Suggested Projects

Revising and Editing for Usability

• The Four Levels of Edit
• Level 1 Editing: Revising
• Level 2 Editing: Substantive Editing
• Level 3 Editing: Copyediting
• Level 4 Editing: Proofreading
• Using Copyediting Symbols
• Lost In Translation: Transcultural Editing
• Document Cycling and Usability Testing
• What You Need to Know
• Suggested Projects

Presenting and Pitching Your Ideas

• Planning and Researching Your Presentation
• Choosing the Right Presentation Technology
• Organizing the Content of Your Presentation
• Choosing Your Presentation Style
• Creating Visuals
• Delivering the Presentation
• Giving Presentations with Your Mobile Phone or Tablet
• Rehearse, Rehearse, Rehearse
• Working Across Cultures with Translators
• What You Need to Know
• Suggested Projects

Writing for the Internet

• Forming Teams, Generating Awareness, and Building Your Brand
• Using Social Networking to Raise Awareness
• Using Blogs and Microblogs to Build a Brand
• Writing for Websites
• Making Internet Videos and Podcasts
• Writing Articles for Wikis
• What You Need to Know
• Suggested Projects

Appendix A: Grammar and Punctuation Guide

• The Top Ten Grammar Mistakes
• Punctuation Refresher

Appendix B: English as a Second Language Guide

• Using Articles Properly
• Putting Adjectives and Adverbs in the Correct Order
• Using Verb Tenses Appropriately

Appendix C: Documentation Guide

• APA Documentation Style
• CSE Documentation Style (Citation-Sequence)
• MLA Documentation Style

References