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The best practice business writing principles, structure, convention and process when drafting and submitting a Technical Report.
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PRESENTATION OVERVIEW
• 20 FUNDAMENTAL, BEST PRACTICE BUSINESS WRITING PRINCIPLES
• THE “LOOK AND FEEL” COMPONENTS OF AN EFFECTIVE TECHNICAL REPORT
• THE 6-STEP, TECHNICAL REPORT WRITING PROCESS
CAKE-BAKING ANALOGY
• BEST PRACTICE BUSINESS WRITING PRINCIPLES - INGREDIENTS
• THE “LOOK AND FEEL” COMPONENTS OF AN EFFECTIVE TECHNICAL REPORT – PICTURE OF THE CAKE
• THE 6-STEP, TECHNICAL REPORT WRITING PROCESS - RECIPE
20 FUNDAMENTAL, BEST PRACTICE WRITING PRINCIPLES
• A – B – C (ACCURACY – BREVITY – CLARITY) – “BE ON POINT AND TO THE POINT”
• A – I – D –A (ATTENTION – INTEREST – DESIRE – ACTION) – “TELL THE READER WHAT YOU’RE GOING TO TELL THEM; TELL THEM AND THEN TELL THEM WHAT YOU TOLD THEM.”
• “THINK BEFORE YOU INK” – USE 80 (THINKING)/20 (INKING) PRINCIPLE
• HARMONIZATION OF THE BEST FIT METHODS – FIT FOR PURPOSE/MESSAGE/READER
• BE STRATEGIC AND SELECTIVE - PROVIDE ONLY VALUE ADDING AND RELEVANT INFORMATION
20 FUNDAMENTAL, BEST PRACTICE WRITING PRINCIPLES
• “LESS IS MORE” – HAVE AN EFFICIENT AND ECONOMICAL WRITING STYLE
• EMPHATHIZE - “CUSTOMIZATION IS KING/QUEEN” – CONDUCT A READERSHIP ANALYSIS TO ACCOMMODATE THEM AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE – “SPEAK THE LANGUAGE THAT YOUR READER UNDERSTANDS”
• INTEGRATE RATIONAL (LEFT BRAIN) AND CREATIVE (RIGHT BRAIN) THOUGHT PROCESSES
• MARRY BEING METICULOUS (“EYE FOR DETAIL”) WITH FINDING CREATIVE WRITING SPACE (PSYCHOLOGICAL, EMOTIONAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL)
• USE OF VISUAL STIMULI AND TECHNIQUES TO COMPLEMENT, SUPPORT AND PROMOTE A HIGHER LEVEL OF UNDERSTANDING
20 FUNDAMENTAL, BEST PRACTICE WRITING PRINCIPLES
• ENSURE QUALITY ASSURANCE E.G. PROOF-READING; EDITING; SPELL CHECKING AND VERIFICATION OF INFORMATION
• USE THE PURPOSE AS YOUR WRITING “GPS” – TO CONCENTRATE/DIRECT FOCUS TO THE ACHIEVEMENT OF OUTCOMES/OBJECTIVES
• “DON’T WRITE TO IMPRESS, WRITE TO PROMOTE A HIGHER LEVEL OF UNDERSTANDING.” – BE A AGENT OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
• EMPLOY A “COMMUNITY OF WRITERS” APPROACH – THE VALUE OF CONSULTATION AND ENGAGEMENT
• PROPER STRUCTURE - USE THE PYRAMID (CASCADING) METHOD – INITIALLY PRESENT LESS IMPORTANCE INFORMATION AND CLIMAX WITH MOST CRITICAL INFORMATION
20 FUNDAMENTAL, BEST PRACTICE WRITING PRINCIPLES
• APPLY THE WATERFALL APPROACH – VERTICAL ALIGNMENT AND SYNERGY BETWEEN THE REPORT FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
• “TOUR GUIDE” MENTALITY – DIRECT; NAVIGATE; ORIENTATE, INFORM; ADVISE, ENLIGHTEN AND CAPTIVATE THE READER
• ADOPT A STORY TELLING MODE – LOGICAL AND COHERENT FLOW OF INFORMATION – NO SURPRISES!
• THE REPORT SHOULD GENERATE BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE – ENABLING SMART OPERATIONAL AND STRATEGIC DECISION-MAKING
• ADOPT A STRATEGIC MIND-SET – DEVELOP STRUCTURED, HOLISTIC AND WELL-PREPARED BUSINESS WRITING HABITS
“LOOK AND FEEL” COMPONENTS OF AN EFFECTIVE TECHNICAL REPORT
• STRUCTURE
• STYLE AND TONE
• READABILITY
• CONVENTION
STRUCTURE
• VARIES DEPENDENT ON WHETHER INFORMATIVE (“TELLING”) OR EVALUATIVE (“SELLING”) TYPE OF TECHNICAL REPORT
• EXTERNAL STRUCTURE – FRONT-END AND BACK-END
• INTERNAL STRUCTURE
EXTERNAL STRUCTURE – BACK-END
• GLOSSARY OF TECHNICAL TERMS AND ACRONYMS
• LIST OF SOURCES/REFERENCES
• ATTACHMENTS – APPENDICES AND ANNEXURES
INTERNAL STRUCTURE
• INTRODUCTION
• BACKGROUND/CONTEXTUALIZATION
• RESEARCH METHODS AND PROCESS
• TECHNICAL FINDINGS
• TECHNICAL CONCLUSIONS
• TECHNICAL RECOMMENDATIONS
STYLE
• STYLE IS REGARDED AS THE DEGREE OF FORMALITY
• THE APPROPRIATE STYLE IS:
FORMAL (NOT INFORMAL) FACTUAL (NOT OPINION-BASED) RATIONAL (NOT EMOTIONAL) – “Connect intellectually
with your reader, disconnect your emotions and personal feelings.”
OBJECTIVE (NOT SUBJECTIVE)
TONE
• TONE IS REGARDED AS THE WRITER’S ATTITUDE – DIRECTED AT READER AND SUBJECT MATTER
• TONE SHOULD BE:
RESPECTFUL (NOT PATRONIZING)ASSERTIVE (NOT PASSIVE OR AGGRESSIVE)PROFESSIONAL
READABILITY• REFERS TO ALL THE ASPECTS THAT MAKE A TECHNICAL REPORT MORE
NOTICEABLE AND EASY TO READ - “SOFT ON THE EYE AND SOFT ON THE MIND”
• MUTUAL DEPENDENCE - THE WRITER RELIES ON THE READERS' ABILITY TO READ EFFICIENTLY AND TO UNDERSTAND THE (INTENDED) MESSAGE.
• WRITER NEEDS TO DO EVERYTHING IN THEIR POWER TO ENABLE AND FACILITATE A COMMON UNDERSTANDING
• TECHNIQUES TO ENHANCE THE READABILITY:
LAY-OUT USE OF WHITE SPACE HEADINGS/SUB-HEADINGS NUMBERING
CONVENTION
• USE OF TABLES AND FIGURES – LABELLING, NUMBERING AND REFERENCING
• APPENDICES AND ANNEXURES - LABELLING, NUMBERING AND REFERENCING
• CITATION AND REFERENCING – HARVARD METHOD – ALWAYS ACKNOWLEDGE SOURCE AND AVOID PLAGRIASM AT ALL COSTS
• FORMAT, DESIGN AND LAY-OUT – INDUSTRY AND ORGANIZATION-SPECIFIC GUIDELINES AND TECHNIQUES
• GRAMMATICAL AND LANGUAGE RULES
CONVENTION
• USE ACTIVE VOICE (AS OPPOSED TO PASSIVE) – WRITTEN IN THIRD PERSON
• USE OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS
• AVOID JARGON AND UNFAMILIAR TECHNICAL TERMINOLOGY
• SENTENCE AND PARAGRAPH STRUCTURING
PROPER SENTENCE AND PARAGRAPH STRUCTURING
• VARY THE LENGTH OF SENTENCES
• EASY TO UNDERSTAND CONCEPTS – SHORTER SENTENCES. COMPLEX CONCEPTS – LONGER SENTENCES TO ENABLE EFFICIENT ASSIMILATION OF INFORMATION
• DON’T SUBSTITUTE A FULL-STOP FOR A COMMA – “IF YOU CAN USE A FULL-STOP USE IT!”
• ONE CONCEPT/KEY POINT, ONE PARAGRAPH. DIFFERENT CONCEPT, DIFFERENT PARAGRAPH. “DON’T MIX ‘N MATCH – AVOID LIQUORICE ALL-SORTS WRITING STYLE”
• CREATE A MEANDERING AND MESMERIZING WRITING STYLE AS YOU TRANSITION FROM ONE PARAGRAPH TO THE NEXT. AS YOU EXIT ONE PARAGRAPH START INTRODUCING THE NEXT ONE.
TECHNICAL REPORT WRITING PROCESS
• STEP 1: PLANNING
• STEP 2: RESEARCHING THINKING (80%)
• STEP 3: ORGANIZING
• STEP 4: WRITING THE FIRST DRAFT
• STEP 5: QUALITY ASSURANCE INKING (20%)
• STEP 6: SUBMIT FINAL DRAFT FOR APPROVAL AND ADOPTION
STEP 1: PLANNING (7-W’S)• DEFINE THE PURPOSE (WHY?)
• FORMULATE THE OBJECTIVES (WHAT?)
• SUBMISSION TARGET DATE (WHEN?)
• SUBMISSION AND APPROVAL PLATFORM/COMMITTEE (WHERE?)
• SCOPE OF THE TECHNICAL REPORT (WIDTH?)
• ESTIMATED LENGTH/VOLUME OF REPORT (WEIGHT?)
• CONDUCT A READERSHIP ANALYSIS (WHO?)
READERSHIP ANALYSIS (RELATED TO A-B-C)
• LEVEL 1 READER/S: APPROVING AUTHORITY (NON-TECHNICAL) – INFORMATION NEED: BREVITY
• LEVEL 2 READER/S: TECHNICAL/SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT – INFORMATION NEED: ACCURACY
• LEVEL 3 READER/S: IMPLEMENTER/FUNCTIONARY – INFORMATION NEED: CLARITY
STEP 2: RESEARCHING
• METHODS – TO ACHIEVE THE SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH PRINCIPLE OF VALIDITY
• PROCESS – TO ACHIEVE THE SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH PRINCIPLE OF RELIABILITY
• COLLECTIVELY: VALIDITY + RELIABILITY = CREDIBILITY
RESEARCH METHODS
• QUANTITATIVE – NUMERIC E.G. STATISTICS
• QUALITATIVE – SUBJECTIVE E.G. SURVEYS AND FOCUS GROUPS
• SOURCES OF DATA:
ELECTRONIC DOCUMENTARY EXPERIMENTAL HUMAN
RESEARCH PROCESS• STEP 1: DEVELOP A DATA COLLECTION PLAN/STRATEGY
• STEP 2: DATA COLLECTION
• STEP 3: DATA COLLATION
• STEP 4: DATA ANALYSIS LEADS TO FINDINGS
• STEP 5: DATA INTERPRETATION• LEADS TO CONCLUSIONS• STEP 6: VERIFICATION
• STEP 7: PUBLICATION LEADS TO RECOMMENDATIONS
STEP 3: ORGANIZING – 3-S FORMAT
• STRUCTURE (OF TECHNICAL REPORT)
• SEQUENCE (OF TECHNICAL REPORT)
• SPACING (POSITIONING OF TABLES, FIGURES, ATTACHMENTS TO THE TECHNICAL REPORT)
• RECOMMENDED ORGANIZING TOOL: MIND-MAPPING
• OBJECTIVE: TO ENSURE FLUENCY AND EFFICIENCY IN WRITING WHEN TRANSITIONING FROM THINKING (STEPS 1-3) TO INKING (STEPS 4-6)
STEP 4: WRITE FIRST DRAFT
• APPLY THE BEST PRACTICE WRITING PRINCIPLES
• USE THE APPROPRIATE TECHNICAL REPORT STRUCTURE AND FORMAT
STEP 5: QUALITY ASSURANCE
• PROOF-READ AND EDIT THE TECHNICAL REPORT
• PERFORM A SPELLING AND PUNCTUATION CHECK
• CONSULT WITH LANGUAGE AND SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS AND RECEIVE FEEDBACK
• MAKE THE NECESSARY REVISIONS
• REFER TO THE EVALUATION CHECKLIST (PAGE 52-54 IN THE LEARNER MANUAL)
STEP 6: SUBMISSION AND APPROVAL OF FINAL DRAFT
• MAKE THE NECESSARY AMENDMENTS AND WRITE THE FINAL DRAFT
• SUBMIT TO HIGHER MANAGEMENT TO AUTHORIZE, APPROVE AND ADOPT THE TECHNICAL REPORT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
CONCLUSION
• SUMMARY OF KEY POINTS
• LEARNING “TAKE-AWAYS"
• QUESTIONS
• TRAINING ADMINISTRATION
• CERTIFICATION
• THANK YOU!
CONTACT DETAILS
• CHARLES COTTER
• 084 562 9446
• LINKED IN
• TWITTER: Charles_Cotter