The “Nature and Importance” of Technical Communication

In the article, “The Technical Communicator as Author” authors  (Slack, J.D., Miller, D., and Doak, S.) proposed that technical communicators should claim their role as author. As a Physical Education major transitioning into Graphic Design, technical communication is a must. The Graphic Design field is considered a subset of visual communication and communication design, but sometimes the term “graphic design” is used interchangeably with these due to overlapping skills involved. The authors also go into depth explaining the three views of communication (transmission, translation, and articulation). They argue that viewing communication as articulation gives us a better understanding on how things work and how to make them better.

This picture links to the video “Teaching and Importance of Technical Communication,” by Professor K. Muralidhar.

For the transmission view, it is the writer’s goal to transmit the message from its source to the reader.  In translation view, the author is just that, the translator. The writer’s goal is to take what an engineer or scientist or whoever says, understand it, and then convert it into a message that an everyday reader would understand. Finally, in the articulation view, the writer’s goal is to articulate the message so that it is timeless in a sense.

My Favorite quote from the article:  “The Technical Communicator as Author“.

“The articulation view allows us to move beyond a conception of communication as the polar contributions of sender and receiver to a conception of an ongoing process of articulation constituted in (and constituting) the relations of meaning an power operating in the entire context with which messages move.” (pp.89)

The quote above stood out the most because the articulation view of communication breaks down information so the reader better understand it. Like technical communicator, Graphic designer also adapt an articulation view. Graphic designers convey inspiring and informative ideas in advertisements, brochures, and other marketing materials.  The strong meaning of graphic stimulates a person to reach for the product or feels drawn to it or immediately decide its an inferior product and has no use for it. Below is a video that explains “What is Technical Communication”.

Technical communication is a broad field and includes any form of communication that exhibits one or more of the following characteristics: Communicating about technical or specialized topics, such as computer applications, medical procedures, or environmental regulations. Communicating by using technology, such as web pages, help files, or social media sites. Providing instructions about how to do something, regardless of how technical the task is or even if technology is used to create or distribute that communication.