Transform Your Technical Writing: Strategies for Better Readability and Response

Are you struggling with finding the desired outcome of your technical writing? You might’ve been overlooking some crucial details that make your writing doesn’t deliver the message to your audience properly.

Pam Hurley is the founder of Hurley Write, which provides customized writing and reviewing workshops for world-class companies. Pam started her career in higher education, teaching students in technical subjects who were frequently irritated by their "inability" to write. Pam wanted these gifted, intelligent kids to know they could write; they just lacked the necessary resources. With over 125 years of combined experience working with professionals in a number of areas, including energy, engineering, biotech/pharma, government, and aerospace, Hurley Write's team of experts is made up of seasoned writers, teachers, and writing coaches. Hurley Write contends that critical thinking and problem-solving skills are the cornerstones of excellent document writing, which extends far beyond syntax. Pam joined us today to talk about some strategies to achieve better readability and response from your technical writing.

We start the conversation with Pam defining technical writing and how writing strategies can solve the problem of writing. Pam then educates us on the importance of knowing the audience that you are writing for, along with the three types of readers: primary, secondary, and tertiary. We then talk about the role critical thinking plays in technical writing, along with how it helps to figure out the needs of your audience. We also hear Pam’s take on using generative AI for writing and why writing on your own is important as a skill.

In this phase of the conversation, Pam explains how assessing feedback can help you to improve the quality of your writing. Then we pay attention to the synchronization of headings and sub-headings of a writing and how you can use it to get the attention of the reader. Furthermore, Pam talks about finding the balance between what the writer wants and what the reader wants.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

[02.14] What is technical writing?

[03.08] Technical writing strategy.

[05.10] The importance of knowing your audience when writing. 

[07.10] Structure of the documents.

[08.55] Critical thinking.

[11.13] The role of generative AI in writing. 

[15.22] How to improve the quality of your writing. 

[19.26] Headings and sub-headings. 

[21.21] How to craft a sub-heading? 

[20.20] Finding the balance between what you want and what the reader wants. 

[25.53] PowerPoint presentations. 

[28.11] SOP and process mapping. 

[31.05] The first steps to get better at your technical writing.

 

TIPS & TOOLS TO IMPLEMENT TODAY

1. Know your audience. 

2. A strategy that works for everyone might not work for you. 

3. Give the employees the time and space to write. 

4. Have the courage to try different things especially, if what you’ve been doing has no positive impact. 

5. Look for keywords that portray the gist of your writing to create a sub-heading.

 

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RESOURCES

Connect with Pam Hurley

LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/hurleywrite/ 

Website - hurleywrite.com/