Tech Biz Writing

The AV has moved on from the old magic lantern days — but perhaps less so than we think. Multimedia may be the rage now, and even videoconferencing across continents. But to avoid confusing the medium with the message, we’ll here concentrate on the basic information required, as might be prepared for a simple slide presentation. Those who wish to go into the technical specification of hardware available should consult the many books found on most library shelves. A good look at Microsoft’s Powerpoint software, bundled with its Office suite, would also be a useful study addition.

Audio-visual work for industry can be placed under two heads:

* Information (including training)
* Sales (including publicity, exhibitions etc.)

AVs are often used for general staff training or for imparting information about a new system or equipment policy. If the organization is large enough, an entire “information package” may be commissioned, including video presentation, talks, plus supporting literature: brochures or booklets.

The most well-known form of presentation is the simple slide show with supporting speech or voice-over. The slides are synchronized with the sound track and are changed by a pulse recorded over the voice commentary.

The writer’s job, in most cases, is to prepare the supporting script, usually in close collaboration with the speaker, who will want his personality to show through the presentation.

Occasionally, a technical author may be asked to produce the entire package, from concept to end result, a tricky job involving liaison with many other trades, such as photographers, film-makers and sound recordists.

For a small AV presentation, a member of staff may be chosen to record the script or give the talk. In a large corporation, the commentary will often be spoken by actors working under studio conditions.

Whatever the size of the job and the cost of production, the basic principles remain the same. An audio-visual production, combining script with slides or video stills, should be approached in much the same way as any other writing task. The problem set, as always, is one of communication. Certain common features flow from this:

* The material should be fully understandable, and written to the level of expertise of its principal audience.
* A general overview should be followed by a progressive breakdown into relevant details.
* For conceptual material, abstract ideas may be illustrated by anecdotes or concrete examples.

A special point relating to audio-visual scripts is that they are by nature highly concentrated and, equally, highly selective in terms of detail. There is an upper-limit to the weight of factual matter that can be accommodated within a 15–20 minute commentary. A script that sound like a list or page from a telephone directory is hardly likely to be a good vehicle for its subject.

The answer is to paint with a broad brush, leaving much of the detail to the supporting literature. Try to maintain a light touch without losing sight of the main purpose: to complement the visual images in an interesting and informative way.

The layout of an AV script may vary with house-style. It’s worth asking to look at several samples before putting words on paper. For example, a script may be typed landscape (longer edge horizontal), fastened by a staple at the center of its upper edge. Or portrait (shorter edge horizontal). As each page is turned, a line drawing, or print of the appropriate slide, is shown at the top of the sheet, with the commentary on the lower.

Usually, an A4 (11″x6″ approx.) page is divided into two halves vertically, with the slide number on the left and the voice script on the right. This is most suitable for short, snappy descriptions. If, however, the explanatory material is lengthy, either the landscape approach, or a two-page spread should be used to give it more space.

As for length, a reasonable rule of thumb is to allow 15 minutes for 2000 words of script. If long pauses are expected (perhaps for well-deserved applause), this will reduce the wordage per minute considerably, while a continuous conversational style could extend it by as much as 300–500 words. At all events it’s advisable to read the script through at the projected pace with an eye on a stopwatch.

Next 11. Educational Textbooks.

Fashion dictates most things, and educational training material is no exception. Many training courses these days appear in the form called the Programmed Learning Package (PLP). This may be a mixed-media collection, containing audio-visual material: a CD ROM, video/DVD, audio cassette etc. At the other end of the scale — and depending on the subject matter — it may come as a simple book or booklets, structured for layer-type or reinforcement learning.

Essentially, the aim of these packages is to administer a measured quantity of information in fixed units, related to time. Reinforcement is achieved by certain repeating techniques, gradually refining the data into a number of key concepts.

The whole package is usually presented in a way that prevents even the most attention-span-challenged student from becoming bored, and confers a pleasant sense of progress having been made at the end of each lesson. Bite-sized chunks are the order of the day.

A technical writer may be called upon to design and write PLPs, especially training material for engineers, or health and safety courses. These all have their own special methods. Here we will concentrate on the general concept and construction of such packages.

As for most tasks, the writer will follow a number of well-defined steps in designing his course. These will include:

1. Learning objectives of the course
For example, on completion the student should be able to
* write a technical document to specification
* prepare camera-ready copy on paper, or finished copy on disk
* proof-read, as required
* amend copy, as needed
2. Aids required
These might include, textbook, book of worked exercises, cassette tapes etc.
3. Course coverage
The course will teach, for example
* concepts of technical authorship
* how to present a technical document
* the writing and production of handbooks
4. Purpose
The purpose of the course may be to prepare the student for a career, or an examination.
5. Students and pre-knowledge
Continuing with our example, the course may be designed, as is the present one, for student with some technical ability and knowledge of English, who wish to write as a career, or produce the occasional technical document.
6. Course method/methods of study
The course could be linked to a series of lectures or demonstrations, or it may be intended for self-study.
7. Course organization
Authors will probably find that their material falls naturally into a certain number of lessons. In the world of the PLP, these may be referred to as modules or units. Each lesson may contain
* reading material
* reading from other reference sources, such as online text or CD ROM
* a series of exercises relating to the reading phase and aimed at reinforcing the assimilated information, and/or assessing progress
* additional exercises presenting unfamiliar aspects of the principles learned — perhaps a number of practical problems
8. Outline of each lesson
At this stage, enough material should be available to allow a breakdown of the content of each lesson, and some indication of the time needed to complete it. For example
Lesson 1: Introduction to the course objectives — methods used and supporting material. Study time 1 hour.
9. Define learning objectives of each lesson
The learning objectives are usually placed at the head of each lesson to give the student an indication of what is required. This may just be the heading itself.
10. Course length
A calculated estimate of the course length is made for courses which are time-critical, i.e. where an exam is involved. Home-study courses are usually the exception to this.

This step-by-step approach to the designing of a learning package can be similarly extended to the individual lessons. For example

Lesson 2
Introduction to the products of a technical writer. What authors do, and how they go about the work.
1 Overall view. A general section encompassing the whole field to be studied in the lesson.
2 Learning objectives. An assessment of what the student should achieve at the end of each lesson.
3 Materials required. Props or other items; consumables
4 Time required. The time estimate for the average student to complete the lesson.
5 Body of the course. The main body of information
6 Summary of key concepts. Basic elements of the material
7 Review exercises. Exercises reviewing the foregoing information
8 Case studies. Exercises presenting different facets of the material such as might be encountered in real life. The Harvard Business School’s famous case study method is a good example of this technique.
9 Link to next lesson A lead-in to the next section will maintain the continuity and draw the student on.

These are the essential elements required for the construction of PLPs or any form of technical training material. We branch out now for two crucial aspects of PLPs: the audio-visual presentation (AV), and the educational textbook.

Next: 10. Technical Presentations.

This site will gradually build into a free course in Business and Technical Writing. The model we are testing here is the publication of a book on a blog supported only by advertising. I believe the model will be used more and more for certain types of book in the future.

This course was originally written by me as a textbook, which formed part of a Technical Writing course subsidized by the British Government.

Because of the nature of the weblog format, the course will appear backwards. However, an index in the sidebar allows readers to follow posts in the correct order. Each post has an internal link to the next chapter in the course. Or you can click on another link from the sidebar.

Next: Introduction: What is a Technical Author?

Sales literature is qualitatively different from other types of technical publication. For one thing, it presents a distinctively glossy face to the world, and this face is a vital element in its message. Smooth, urbane, sophisticated, it’s instantly recognizable for what it is: an attempt to maximize the sales of a particular product or service.

Writing technical sales literature (TSL) can be a fascinating part of an author’s work, especially if he/she has some creative imagination and an ability to punch home the point. Often, as in most forms of advertising, it’s a sort of game with the writer trying to keep one step ahead of the diminishing credulity of the reader.

For this reason, the best TSL is often the most factual and straightforward. Simplicity, as in theatre, usually conveys the starkest and most believable effects.

In writing TSL an author normally works in close collaboration with a graphic designer. If the item is to be a glossy brochure, either the author or the artist may suggest a theme or motif. As a first step, a set of roughs, or visuals, will be produced by the artist to impress the clients and give them an idea of how the finished work will look. Within these limits the author will determine his writing policy, the sales pitch — unless this is already established — and the length of the text.

Naturally, the style needs to be bright and informative, without becoming too chatty or convivial. The text should match the graphics in overall approach and complement them with information. There is usually a two-way split here, with the artist and marketing people favouring the graphics, while the writer and the client’s technical people emphasising the words. Sometimes the text will come back set in 8pt and coloured a light grey so that it’s almost impossible to read. This should be pointed out, but never fought over — it’s their brochure after all, and they must carry the can for it in the end.

TSL is something of an art — not one that suits the temperament (or talent) of all technical writers. But one that requires experience, flair, a good technical background, and a feel for the more expressive qualities of language. It is the icing on the cake. Well paid, and well worth doing if this is what you want.

Next: 9. Technical Training Material.