Technical Writing: Breaking Down the What, Why, and How.

Transcript

1. Technical Writing: Breaking Down the What, Why, and How. International Women’s Day 2025
2. Mfonobong Umondia • WTM Ambassador • Community and Marketing Manager • Technical Writer • Entrepreneur (food and fashion) • Building CM Growth Lab
3. Writers are Born, Not Made Myth 1 about writers
4. Proprietary and Confidential What is Technical Writing? Technical writing is the practice of writing clear, concise, and structured documentation to explain complex concepts, processes, or products. It is used to communicate technical information in a way that is easily understandable for a specific audience, whether they are developers, end-users, or business stakeholders.
5. Proprietary and Confidential Why is it important? a. It bridges the gap between developers, users, and stakeholders. b. Improves User Experience. A well-structured documentation leads to better product adoption and usability. c. It reduces reliance on customer support and troubleshooting. d. It ensures accessibility for diverse user groups regardless of if they are technical or non-technical.
6. Proprietary and Confidential Instructions for using software, hardware, or tools. User Guides & Manuals Examples of Technical Writing
7. Proprietary and Confidential Instructions for using software, hardware, or tools. User Guides & Manuals Guides developers on how to use APIs and integrate software. API Documentation Examples of Technical Writing
8. Proprietary and Confidential Instructions for using software, hardware, or tools. User Guides & Manuals Guides developers on how to use APIs and integrate software. API Documentation Explains features, workflows, and troubleshooting for digital products. Product Documentation Examples of Technical Writing
9. Proprietary and Confidential Instructions for using software, hardware, or tools. User Guides & Manuals Guides developers on how to use APIs and integrate software. API Documentation Explains features, workflows, and troubleshooting for digital products. Product Documentation Examples of Technical Writing In-depth industry analysis and research documentation. Technical Reports & Whitepapers
10. Proprietary and Confidential Instructions for using software, hardware, or tools. User Guides & Manuals Guides developers on how to use APIs and integrate software. API Documentation Explains features, workflows, and troubleshooting for digital products. Product Documentation Examples of Technical Writing In-depth industry analysis and research documentation. Technical Reports & Whitepapers Providing step-by-step instructions for setting up hardware or software. Installation Guides
11. Proprietary and Confidential Instructions for using software, hardware, or tools. User Guides & Manuals Guides developers on how to use APIs and integrate software. API Documentation Explains features, workflows, and troubleshooting for digital products. Product Documentation Examples of Technical Writing In-depth industry analysis and research documentation. Technical Reports & Whitepapers Helping users diagnose and resolve technical issues. Troubleshooting Guides Providing step-by-step instructions for setting up hardware or software. Installation Guides
12. Proprietary and Confidential Instructions for using software, hardware, or tools. User Guides & Manuals Guides developers on how to use APIs and integrate software. API Documentation Explains features, workflows, and troubleshooting for digital products. Product Documentation Examples of Technical Writing In-depth industry analysis and research documentation. Technical Reports & Whitepapers Helping users diagnose and resolve technical issues. Troubleshooting Guides Providing step-by-step instructions for setting up hardware or software. Installation Guides Detailing changes and updates in a software version. Software Release Notes
13. Proprietary and Confidential Instructions for using software, hardware, or tools. User Guides & Manuals Guides developers on how to use APIs and integrate software. API Documentation Explains features, workflows, and troubleshooting for digital products. Product Documentation Examples of Technical Writing In-depth industry analysis and research documentation. Technical Reports & Whitepapers Step-by-step instructions for business and technical processes. Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) Helping users diagnose and resolve technical issues. Troubleshooting Guides Providing step-by-step instructions for setting up hardware or software. Installation Guides Detailing changes and updates in a software version. Software Release Notes
14. Technical Writers Don't Need to Understand the "Why" Behind the Technology Myth 2 about writers
15. Proprietary and Confidential ❏ Engineers & Developers use API documentation, code manuals, and system design docs to build, debug, and integrate software because it helps them understand how different systems interact and ensures consistency in development. ❏ Product Managers use product documentation and requirement documents to communicate features and roadmap to teams. This helps align development, marketing, and business strategies. ❏ UX Designers. They use UX writing and design documentation to improve user interfaces and interactions.It helps ensure a seamless user experience by making interfaces intuitive and easy to use. Who uses Technical Writing? ❏ Support Teams & Customer Service uses knowledge bases, FAQs, and troubleshooting guides to assist users with product issues. ❏ End Users use user manuals, guides, and help centers to understand how to use a product.
16. Proprietary and Confidential Key Skills of a Technical Writer ➢ Writing and Grammar Proficiency. ➢ Ability to break down complex topics into digestible content. ➢ Consistency in terminology, formatting, and style. ➢ Understanding your readers and Tailoring content to different knowledge levels. This is called Audience Perception. ◦ What do they need? ◦ Why will they be reading? ◦ How will they be reading?
17. Proprietary and Confidential ➢ Collaboration. You need to collaborate with the people you are writing for. Look at it like usability testing but for writers. ➢ Research. Your article may probably be the 900th one on the internet. How are you going to make yours different? ➢ Find your unique voice and stick to it. ➢ Technical Skill. You do not have to be a professional developer but you should know just enough to be able to write about it. "If you can't explain it to a six-year-old, you don't understand it yourself." ~ Albert Einstein "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.” ~ Albert Einstein
18. Proprietary and Confidential So How Do You Get Started in Technical Writing? ➢ Learn the Basics. Explore technical writing courses, books, and blogs. E.g Technical Writing Course by Google, Write the docs, Microsoft Style Guide and from other platforms like Coursera etc. ➢ Read! Read!! Read!!!. Reading other people’s work does not only open your mind to new things but it also improves your vocabulary, builds your word bank and helps you stay inspired. ➢ Practice! After learning and reading to see how it’s done the next thing you should do is to develop a habit of writing. Your writings does not necessarily be perfect, just write till you get better. Write anything and everything. ➢ Start building your portfolio. It does not have to be perfect but it shows your progress. ➢ Join a community and engage.
19. Tools and Resources for Technical Writers Use documentation tools like Google Docs, Confluence, and even Notion. Learn about Style Guides. They help set a tone and style for your writings. E.g Google Developer Style Guide, Microsoft Writing Style Guide, Chicago Manual of Style. Four your editing & proofreading, check out Grammarly, Quilbot, ProWritingAid etc.
20. Career Opportunities Technical writing is a high-demand, highly profitable skill. According to Glassdoor, salaries typically range from $40,000 to over $90,000 annually. Additionally, some companies pay anywhere from $50 to $500 per article, depending on the topic and complexity. There are also special programs that offer paid opportunities for writers for example, Google Season of Docs, where participants can earn up to $3,000 for contributing to open-source documentation.
21. The only way to get better at writing is by writing consistently. Myth 2 about writers
22. Q&A Can’t think of questions now? Ask me on X (formerly Twitter) @the_ladybella
23. Thank you!