Description
Companies, teams, and individuals are measured by how well they communicate. This interactive workshop helps IT professionals produce more effective documents. It reviews technical writing techniques and processes and provides examples and templates for continuing use after the workshop. Company specifics, such as style guidelines, can be incorporated. Each topic is reinforced by written exercises.

Audience
Information technology (IT) professionals who want to improve the effectiveness of their writing. This course can be customized for business professionals or mixed audiences.

Prerequisites
Good verbal and written English skills are required.

Classroom Requirements
Room set up as horseshoe and large enough for individual and group writing activities and reviews. Overhead projector, flipcharts.

Format

• Presentation
  
• Written Exercises
  

Objectives
After completing this course, participants should be able to:

• Describe the types of documents that IT professionals develop and use
• Apply the basic rules of good technical writing and avoid jargon
• Identify the needs of different audiences
• Use outlines for organizing document content
• Summarize key points of verbal or written information
• Use effective presentation formats
• Write effective electronic mail

Introduction

Technical Writing Overview

• Pre-sales documents and proposals
• System development life cycle documents
• Business documents

Effective Technical Writing

• Writing basics review: sentence structure, active and passive voice, person, punctuation, using the correct words
• Common mistakes in technical writing

Writing for a Target Audience

• Assessing the target audience
• Assessing the audience’s needs

Using Outlines and Summaries

• Outline formats and elements
• Elements of effective summaries

Writing Effective E-mail

• E-mail message guidelines

Using Effective Presentation Formats

• Graphics and other presentation elements
• Presentation guidelines

Conclusion

• Success factors