Here Are 7 Technical Writing Blunders You Should Avoid

by Madrigal Communications Technical Writer

Whether you’re trying to communicate your company’s yearly performance in an Annual Report or introducing a new product with a user manual, you need to brush up your technical writing skills.

 

Technical writing is quite different from other forms of writing, like storytelling. Are your business documents failing to serve their purpose? It’s possible that you’re making some of the following technical writing mistakes.

 

1.   Overusing Jargon

Including a lot of technical terms doesn’t automatically imply a quality document. In fact, overusing jargon can jeopardize your document’s readability. Try to keep jargon to a minimum, unless you’re targeting an audience that’s well-versed with such terms.

 

2.   Lack of Planning

Technical writing is not a stream of consciousness. You cannot approach writing an Employee Handbook or a Sustainability Report without planning out a structure. Following a planned outline will allow you to draft a document that has a logical progression. 

 

3.   Overlooking Formatting & Presentation

A poor choice of font can completely ruin the potential of your document. In addition to readability, you need to pay attention to proper formatting and presentation of the document. By using an appropriate font, colours, spaces, margins and so on, you can create a visually cohesive document. You cannot overlook formatting when creating a quality document.

 

4.   Inconsistency

Sometimes, more than one writer works on a document. Lack of collaboration and poor communication can lead to inconsistencies and errors.

 

5.   Poor Research

Researching is an important step for creating relevant technical documents. Whether you’re competing for NSW etendering or drafting a business proposal, don’t rush through researching.

 

6.   Misunderstanding Target Audience

Are you targeting a local or a global audience? Is your target audience your company’s shareholders or your product’s users?

 

The writing style and tone are different for different audiences. You cannot have the same approach for writing an Annual Report and a User Manual. You should focus on drafting a document that not only is useful for the readers but also meets their comprehension level.

 

7.   Undermining Scope of Visual Content

While the text is a reliable format for communicating complex concepts, it can become monotonous. To enhance comprehensibility and retain the reader’s attention, it’s crucial to draft a well-rounded document that includes visual content.

 

Don’t forget to add illustrations, graphics and diagrams to your documents. For digital readers, you can incorporate videos and infographics.

 

The Bottom Line

Like any other skill, you need to put in the hours to master technical writing. It’s an important skill for creating useful and comprehensible business documents.

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Created on May 25th 2020 08:02. Viewed 388 times.

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