Top 10 Technical Writing Skills to Become Successful Technical Writer

Technical writing skills are constantly evolving with growing needs and technical needs. The ability to identify basic skills that can help you to improve in your field of expertise can be complex. In this article, you will find the most demanded and efficient skills that can lead you to become a successful technical writer.

What Are Writing Skills?

Before diving into the understanding of technical writing skills, first, you need to ask yourself what exactly are writing skills?

So here it is, writing skills include all the knowledge and skills related to expressing ideas in written words. Knowing which situations require which style of writing and setting the right tone in the text are important writing skills that one can use in the work.

Must Read: Top 10 Technical Writing Courses in India

Different components of writing skills

There are primarily 3 components of writing skills namely –

1. Grammatical skill
2. Compositional skill
3. Domain knowledge

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Here I have provided a gist of what each of them is –

1. Grammatical Skills 

Each and every one of us has basic grammar skills. But in writing, by grammatical skills, I mean the ability to construct correct sentences. Writing requires the ability to construct sentences but not the ability to schematize them. 

2. Compositional Skills

The compositional skill is the ability to organize words. Matters such as a story, an interesting lecture, or a blog post all display compositional skills. People often seem to mix up compositional skills and grammatical skills. It is important to know that both of these are different and separate skills.

3. Domain Knowledge

Having information and knowledge about what you are writing and for whom is a very important aspect of writing successfully. Technical writers will often go to great heights in order to gather information about the target audience, and the creation of the characters so that they can have a model of who they are writing about. 

What Is Technical Writing?

Technical writing connotes to the writing or drafting technical communication. It is used in technical and occupational fields, such as engineering, computer hardware and software, chemistry, robotics, aeronautics, finance, medical, biotechnology, and so forth and so on.

Technical writing is sometimes referred to as a simplification of the complex. This is a short and seemingly simple definition. It is a set of skills and characteristics that will have an impact on almost all spheres of human activity, at one level or one other. It is a significant part of the broader field of technical communication. Technical writing has more complex data that needs to be broken down and communicated to the ones who need it to perform a specific task or goal.

Analyze the Demand for Technical Writing

What Is The Scope Of Technical Writing As A Career?

With the growing demand for technology solutions and innovation, artificial intelligence, and machine learning, the requirements for the content have also continued to increase along with the development of this type of content. Along with this, a technical writer can also visit the areas, such as advertising, consulting, social science, telecommunications, security, and publishing- these are just a few areas while its list of potential customers has no end.

The fact that technology is everywhere, and the degree to which it is growing, technical writers are now essential for organizations to have. So, technical writing will be one of the most realistic career options in the future.

Here, learn about How to get Technical Writing Jobs

Examples Of Technical Writing Documents

There are various types of technical writing documents. Some examples of them are –

1. Instructions
2. Reviews
3. Reports 
4. Newsletters
5. Presentations
6. Web pages
7. Brochures
8. Proposals, 
9. Letters,
10. Fliers,
11. Graphics,
12. Memos,
13. Press releases,
14. Handbooks,
15. Specifications,
16. Style guides

You may also want to know about the Career Growth in Technical Writing

What Does A Technical Writer Do?

The job of a technical writer is to create specialized content, which is effective on a specific target audience. Of course, the information provided by the writer should be accurate and free of errors, and she/he should the ability to interpret it. The content needs to be presented and manipulated in such a way so that the people who do not have technical knowledge should also get the desired information.

A few of the most common examples of technical writing include instruction manuals, user guides, and online courses. If you have read some, you may have noticed that they are making use of a certain style of writing and its format. However, the goal is always the same: to inform and educate the target audience, and help them to find the information about the products, services, or subject matters that they seek.

Requisite Skills for a Technical Writer

Now let’s get to the main question – what are the technical writing skills that you need to have to be a technical writer?

We know that anyone can be a technical writer, but they need to have some skill sets. Like anything and everything, technical writing has some adroitness that one should have.

Here are some technical writing skills that you need to learn in order to excel in technical writing –

1. Communication Skills

Technical writing (or any writing for that matter) is basically communicating to individuals. This means that the writers should be experts in the identification and personalization of communication, based on the knowledge and the understanding of their target audience. 

To be able to communicate well, a technical writer must have to work for polishing their communication skills: 

Clarity – Clarity is the ability to provide clear, concise, and clear, both in oral and written communication. 

Purpose – A technical writer must know the reason and importance of communication in the first place, and what is the purpose of the communication. They should also be well aware of the problems to which end-users find solutions and how they will resolve them.

Self-Confidence – In order to ensure that the content and the messages can be relied upon, one needs to give up the hesitation and uncertainty. Have a consistent strive for knowledge and always be confident in yourself and in your field of expertise. 

In addition, the role of technical writers includes active listening and planning for the help of an oral or written presentation. 

2. Technical Skills

Technical skill is a general term used to describe the knowledge and understanding of the industry and its product and service. 

Although, a lot of technical writers continue their higher education in a technical field such as mechanical engineering, or computer science, especially in the technical skills of a technical writer, belonging to the technical knowledge of the subject matter of interest to them. 

With this in mind, a writer should understand that technical skills are not only an ocean of knowledge in a number of areas that are of interest to them but the percentage of the people they work with. 

However, in general, the number of the required technical skills include: 

Project Management 

Product Development 

Languages 

Marketing 

User Interface Design (UX) 

In addition, the senior technical writers are very good at managing documents with a variety of productivity programs. 

3.Understand Of Audience

The analysis of the target audience for the writing of technical documents is very important for a writer’s success. One must know the overall background of the audience they are serving the content to. 

Audience analysis is a study that should be performed throughout the entire production process for a certain type of technical content. This requires an understanding of the target audience, especially the population, and the level of technical know-how in connection with the product and their interests and needs. 

In order to find out who you’re writing for, you should gather as much information as possible about the use of this document. It is important to know the target group and know do they have experience in this area? Is the subject matter new to them, or is it somewhere in between?

In short, a large portion of the public may know very little about the technical aspects, therefore one must be sure that the text should be at least technical and, mostly, it should be for the layman. 

4.Research Skills

To be successful at anything you need to do research. It is a process. In the same way as a technical writer, you can’t get started without extensive market research. And usually, this research is based on the key information that is obtained through user feedback and experts in the field. 

The most important categories (apart from the audience analysis) to do research on while or before writing a technical document are:

➔  Document Planning – After knowing your target audience, you need to understand how you will present your document, and it needs a lot of brainstorming and planning.

Technical information is already available at this moment. There are a lot of factors to consider, but not all of them will be included in the final product. Even though there are a variety of ways to access and process information, the most effective would be mind mapping. There is a wide range of mind map tools available, usage of which can reduce a lot of time that is generally consumed in planning, plotting, and drafting the content. 

With a mind map, you can view a wide range of information, taglines, and a high-level overview before you start writing.

•     ClickUp
•     Lucidchart
•     Microsoft Visio
•     MindMeister
•     Milanote
•     MindGenius
•     Miro
•     SmartDraw

➔  User Experience – This experience involves the readability of technical documentation for end-users that a technical writer creates with the launch of a new product or a particular function. 

5.Writing Skills

Technical writers need to write the various types of technical content with a flexible approach and a knowledge of a variety of styles. The most common types of content that you need to know how to do includes: 

User Manual – It is the document that provides instructions for the end-user to use the product, the software, or the process. 

“Instructions for use” are often intertwined with the broader category of “online help” or more “in-depth instructions”.

Technical Report – Technical reports are reports that contain complex information about a specific product in a specific format, including the development and progress. 

Policies – The policies and procedures shall include the recording of the right of use of the industry’s assets, and technologies in order to provide a safe and productive working environment. 

Case-Study – A case study of documents, which examines the interaction of the user with the product and sees the detailed information for future improvement. 

6.Editing Skills

In addition to the technical skills, the writers will have the ability to look critically at their work, edit it and create. She/he should continue to roll out improvements to the technical details, keeping in mind the target audience.

When working on a draft of a technical report, the writers should consider the following:: 

Contents Overview 

Spelling and punctuation 

Structure and style 

Tone of voice 

Technical specifications 

Proofreading 

In general, they make sure that their document will be in accordance with the magnitude and direction of the technical content. 

7.Designing Skills

It is important to note that the writers not only transfer technical information, but also need to present the data in the form of graphs, charts, infographics, videos, etc., to make the content more attractive, and easy-to-digest, for the users. 

Some of the in-demand design skills include the following: 

Information Design – It is the ability to have a visual and oral presentation of the information (including any facts, graphics, statistics, tables, and figures) in the most accessible manner on a large scale.

Information Architecture – It is the ability to organize information in the most user-friendly form. 

Typography – It is the ability to organize and present your matter in the most efficient and easy-to-read manner, depending on the type of technical document. 

Basic Principles of Graphic Design – The ability to use a visual to convey complex information in the form of usable art. 

8.Teamwork

It is believed that the job of a technical writer in a company is independent, but in most companies are required to work with employees from all departments, and a variety of target audiences. Therefore, to be a good technical writer, one must know how to work with different people from different areas of knowledge and experience. 

When it comes to working in a team, a technical writer must have the following skills: 

Conflict Resolution Skills 

Problem-Solving Skills

Decision-Making Skills

Planning and Organizational Skills  

In addition to all these a technical writers must also possess the art of persuasion. It is to find a common ground to be found by the developers and its experts, and their opinions are highly appreciated; it is important to make an impact. 

9.Understanding Of Digital Tools

A technical writer must understand the computer systems, as they can be used to create documentation in several formats. There are plenty of digital tools that technical writers must not only be aware of but also should be thorough with. That means she/he must have good knowledge of such tools. Although it depends on the organization (if you are working in one) that what tools do they use, in that case, a technical writer must get accustomed to the specific tool’s usage. 

Here are some common and basic tools that come in handy for technical writers- both freelancers and employees:

•    XML 
•    MadCap Flare
•    XMetaL
•    Oxygen – XML Editor
•    Whatfix
•    Powtoon(for animation)
•    Google Docs
•    MS Word
•    Adobe Illustrator
•    PageMaker 
•    Quarkxpress
•    RoboHelp
•    Freemind

Technology is always evolving, and there is no doubt that in the future, we can have many new tools with advanced features, hence technical writers (in fact, all writers) need to be up-to-date with technology and never stop learning the new methods and tools.

10.Education

To be able to excel in technical writing and all its aspects and to acquire all the skills it requires, one must have adequate knowledge and education in this field. 

For education, I don’t mean that you will have to do schooling again. Luckily we have various institutes that offer technical writing courses no matter what educational background you have. 

Here I have given the information of technical writing course offered by IIM Skills-

One of the most renowned institutes to offer online technical writing courses is IIM Skills. With the best and most efficient faculty, IIM Skills helps people make a successful career in technical writing. 

Anyone who has a basic knowledge of English, communication skills, and the internet can enroll in the technical writing course. After completion of which she/he will get a master’s certification in technical writing and also be offered an internship program through IIM Skills.

The course comprises 20+ hours of live session lectures and the following course curriculum –

• Essentials Of Technical Writing 
• Role Of A Technical Writer In An Organization 
• Steps To The Process Of Writing 
• Creating Your Content With Flow Charts, Mindmaps, Infographics 
• Technical Report Writing 
• Different Styling Techniques 
• White Papers, Journals
• Scientific Research Articles 
• Versioning Of Documents 
• DDLC Reviewing And Publishing 
• Writing API Documentation 
• User Manuals 
• Medical Writing 
• Effective Writing For Different Industries 
• Case Studies And Practical Assignments

Conclusion

Technical Writing is a valuable and rewarding skill. This is a precious title, regardless of whether you are a freelancer or employee at that post in a company. The ability to write technical documents is a real career breakthrough in this tech-savvy era.

Becoming a good technical writer is not a one-time process, but it is a cost-effective investment in your career.

What you need to understand is that not everyone can be a perfectionist, but with a little bit of effort each day, you will be able to achieve great things. All of the skills mentioned in this article can make a noticeable difference for anyone who is trying to be a good technical writer. 

All you have to do is to continue to train yourself and make it the only priority.