Republic of the Philippines

Commission on Higher Education

MINDANAO STATE UNIVERSITY

GENERAL SANTOS CITY CAMPUS

General Santos City

Written Report:Technical Communication

Presented to :Professor Rossel Audencial

Presented by:

Aredidon,Trisha Mae

Badrudin,Baituron

Degayo, Laurice

Canieso,Jessa C.

Gulmatico,Mike Erryll

Pajarillo,Trexy

Pejana,Ainor

Piang,Shaira Mae
TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION

Technical communication is a broad field and includes any form of communication that
exhibits one or more of the following characteristics:

● Communicating about technical or specialized topics, such as computer

applications, medical procedures, or environmental regulations.

● Communicating by using technology, such as web pages, help files, or social

media sites.

● Providing instructions about how to do something, regardless of how technical

the task is or even if technology is used to create or distribute that
communication.

The value that technical communicators deliver is twofold:

● They make information more useable and accessible to those who need that
information, and in doing so, they advance the goals of the companies or
organizations that employ them.
As technical communication is part of different spheres, keep in mind that technical
communication is not expressive writing, journalistic writing, or creative literature. It
does not use vague literary references. The language of technical communication is dry,
clear and concise to help people get the main idea quickly.

Purpose of Technical Communication

The purpose of technical communication is to make information clear and

understandable in order to make business more productive and consumer goods more
convenient. Technical communication helps to advance our economy by ensuring viable
research and development, safeguarding design and manufacturing, and protecting
consumers through accurate and informative documents.

Technical Communication serves three purposes:

• to inform: Anticipate and answer your readers' questions

• to instruct: Enable your readers to perform a certain task
• to persuade: Motivate your readers to take the desired action
Essentials of Technical Communication

One of the most important aspects of technical communication is understanding the

audience.

● Think about these questions:

● Who is the audience?
● What is the audience trying to accomplish?
● How can the communication effectively help them accomplish this specific goal?
● What is the simplest and clearest explanation that can be provided?

If the company is unaware of what the audience is specifically looking for, then they will
not be able to successfully produce the documentation needed.

There are several essentials of effective technical communication, and they are:

● knowing and understanding difficult language

● being familiar with specific jargon associated with an industry

● being as accurate as possible

Technical communication requires spending time interpreting the thoughts and ideas of
people in different fields, such as engineering, marketing, and programming.

It requires the writer to specifically think about the goal or task that the reader is trying to
accomplish and then work from there.

Characteristics of Technical Communication

Six Characteristics of Technical Communication (Makel 2007)
* Addresses particular readers;
* Helps readers solve problems;
* Reflects an organization's goals and culture;
* Is produced collaboratively;
* Uses design to increase readability; and.
* Consists of words or graphics or both.

Types of Technical Communication

Oral Communication:

● Oral communication primarily includes face-to-face communication, interviews,

speeches, presentations and meetings where the presenter is personally
present.
● It helps to clear misunderstandings, which are not possible through email or
written communication.

Written Communication

● A form of communication through texts that can also range from one page to 100
pages or more.
● classified on the basis of audience(internal circulation,external communication or
both).
● letters are also used for building public relations, asking or granting credit, giving
reference, covering letters to proposals and reports
● reports come in the form of a memo or letter or in lengthy documents in hundreds
of pages with a very formal tone.

Report

A report is a document that presents relevant business information in an organized and

understandable format. Each report is aimed at a specific audience and business
purpose and it summarizes the performance of different activities based on goals and
objectives.
Types Of Reports

1. Informational Reports

The first in our list of reporting types are informational reports. As their name
suggests, this report type aims to give factual data about a specific topic. This
can include performance reports, expenses reports, justification reports, among
others. A differentiating characteristic from these reports is their objectivity, they
are only meant to inform but not propose solutions or hypotheses. Common
informational reports examples are for performance tracking such as annual,
monthly, or weekly reports.

2. Analytical Reports

This report type contains a mix of useful information to facilitate the

decision-making process through a mix of qualitative and quantitative data as
well as real-time and historical data. Unlike informational reports that purely
inform users about a topic, this report type also aims to provide
recommendations about the next steps and help with problem-solving. With this
information in hand, businesses can build strategies based on analytical
evidence and not simple intuition. With the use of the right BI reporting tool
businesses can generate analytical reports that include accurate forecasts via
predictive analytics technologies.

3. Operational Reports

These reports track every pertinent detail of the company's operational tasks,
such as its production processes. They are typically short-term reports as they
aim to paint a picture of the present. Businesses use this type of report to spot
any issues and define their solutions, or to identify improvement opportunities to
optimize their operational efficiency. Operational reports are commonly used in
 manufacturing, logistics, and retail as they help keep track of inventory,
production, costs, among others.

4. Product Reports

As its name suggests, this report type is used to monitor several aspects related
to product performance and development. Businesses often use them to track
which of their products or subscriptions are selling the most within a given time
period, calculate inventories, or see what kind of product the client values the
most. Another common use case of these reports is to research the
implementation of new products or develop the existing ones.

5. Industry Reports

Next in our list of the most common types of reports we have industry-specific
reports. Typically, these reports provide an overview of a particular industry,
market, or sector with definitions, key trends, leading companies, industry size,
among others. They are particularly useful for businesses who want to enter a
specific industry and want to learn how competitive it is or for companies who are
looking to set performance benchmarks based on average industry values.

6. Department Reports

These reports are specific to each department or business function. They serve
as a communication tool between managers and team members that need to
stay connected and work together for common goals. Rather is the sales
department, customer service, logistics, or finances, these specific report type
helps track and optimize performance on a deeper level. Let’s look at it with an
example of a team performance report.

7. Progress Reports

From the brunch of informational reports, progress reports provide critical

information about the status of a project. These reports can be produced on a
daily, weekly, or monthly basis by employees or managers to track performance
and fine-tune tasks for the better development of the project. Progress reports
are often used as visual materials to support meetings and discussions.
 8. Internal Reports

A type of report that encompasses many others on this list, internal reports refer
to any type of report that is used internally in a company. They convey
information between team members and departments to keep communication
flowing regarding goals and business objectives.

9. External Reports

Although most of the report types listed here are used for internal purposes, not
all reporting is meant to be used in closed doors. External reports are created
with the aim of sharing information with external stakeholders such as clients or
investors for budget or progress accountability as well as to governmental bodies
to stay compliant with the law requirements.

10. Vertical & Lateral Reports

Last but not least in our rundown of the top 10 types of reports we have vertical
and lateral reports. This reporting type refers to the direction in which a report
travels. A vertical report is meant to go upward or downward the hierarchy, for
example, a management report. While a lateral report assists in organization and
communication between groups that are at the same level of the hierarchy, such
as the financial and marketing departments.

Electronic Communication

● Electronic communication is any form of communication that’s broadcast,

transmitted, stored or viewed using electronic media.
● It is said that, this boom in communication technology is a curse as well as a
blessing
Technical Style

● Style in technical communication is the way one speaks or writes to convey

technical information.
● Style in Tech. Com. depends on the audience, the communicative context, and
the purpose of communication.
● Style is formal in a technical report or professional presentation and informal as a
personal letter or casual conversation.

ABC of Technical Communication

● Accuracy
● Brevity
● Clarity

Accuracy
● Accuracy demands exactness and precision.
● First feature of technical communication is accuracy, which includes accuracy of
information as well as accuracy of expression.
● One must assure oneself of the accuracy of information before communicating.

Brevity
● It is the quality of being brief but comprehensive in expression.

Brevity can be achieved by;

● Avoiding Repetition
● Avoiding Wordiness

Clarity
● Clarity in Communication is the quality of being unambiguous and easily
understood.
● Clarity is achieved when the communicator has communicated his or her
meaning to the reader or listener.
● Using Direct language
● Using Specific words and concrete words and expressions. ( I beg your pardon.
Could you please repeat that? etc)
● Avoid exaggeration, artificial eloquence, and ornamentation
● Use direct sentences.
Examples of Technical Communication

1. User guides
● A user guide, also generally called instruction manuals or end-user manuals, or
technical communication manuals or documents is envisioned to assist
individuals utilizing a specific system. It is typically transcribed by a technical
writer. But in small-scale companies, these guides or manuals are written by
product or project managers, programmers, or other technical teams.

2. Website Content
● Web content refers to the textual, aural, or visual content published on a website.
Content means any creative element, for example, text, applications, images,
archived e-mail messages, data, e-services, audio and video files, and so on.
● Web content is the key behind traffic generation to websites. Creating engaging
content and organizing it into various categories for easy navigation is most
important for a successful website. Also, it is important to optimize the web
content for search engines so that it responds to the keywords used for
searching.
3. Newletters
● A newsletter is a tool used to communicate regularly with your subscribers,
delivering the information you want in your email boxes. These messages can
contain simple text or a structure composed of images and formatted text.
● In practice, we all receive several newsletters daily, and it is, in a sense, a way to
maintain regular contact with the brands we follow.
What is the purpose of a newsletter?

● Newsletters are often used by people who have websites, blogs, or e-commerce
to advertise a product, content, article, communicate an event, or engage in
remarketing campaigns, such as the abandoned cart — not forgetting the typical
transactional communication (order confirmation, sending, etc.).
● Speaking more globally, the newsletter has the following purpose:
● Maintain a Regular Contact
● That your website or blog does not fall into oblivion
● Increase Visitors, Encourage Visitors to Visit
● Send Different Types of Content to Relevant
● Create Visiting Habits
● Attract Traffic.

4. The FAQ (pronounced FAK)

● or list of "frequently-asked questions" (and answers) has become a feature of the
Internet. The FAQ seems to have originated in many of the Usenet groups as a
way to acquaint new users with the rules. Today, there are thousands of FAQs on
the World Wide Web.
What is a quick-reference guide?

● A quick-reference guide is any documentation that provides a one- or two-page

set of condensed instructions on how to use a product. They can be highly
detailed or very simple, depending on what’s needed.

● For example, a few years ago, I upgraded my basic stove with a nicer, more
advanced model. While the oven on the old stove was basically on or off with
temperature settings, my new one came with all kinds of new features.
5. Reports
A report is a document that presents relevant business information in an organized and
understandable format.It provides the needed information of a company or an
organization to monitor the flow of a business.
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