Technical writing refers to communicating information about technical products with the aim of guiding the readers to achieve their goals. On the other hand, content writing focuses on the marketing aspect and creating awareness about the product or service. If a content writer is set to transform his career to technical writing, language skills become the most important asset. However, technical writing is way more demanding than content writing in terms of constant learning and skill set upgrading.
Following are some of the guidelines that will help a content writer to become an effective technical writer:
Research skills
You need to develop research skills to ensure a faster turnaround time for projects. The technical writing field is constantly emerging and thus requires the writer to know how to research based on project requirements. You may be required to write on a very complex technology or explore advanced features in tools, applications, etc. The key here is – learn ‘to learn’.
Authoring tools
Even though one cannot start as a know-it-all, it is recommended to learn a few trending authoring tools. For this purpose, you can enroll into courses, attend workshops, and explore study materials on the internet. The free trial versions of the authoring tools are available for exploring and learning. However, most of these tools’ trial versions are available for a limited period. So, it is important to focus and dedicate to one tool at a time and explore as much as possible. In fact, if you have enrolled into a course, you must still explore features and applications on your own to gain advanced knowledge. Some of the tools you can learn to start your career are RoboHelp, Madcap Flare, and FrameMaker.
A quick grasp of technologies
As a technical writer, you are expected to communicate complex technologies in an easily understandable manner to the readers. You will also be responsible for guiding the actions of the readers and minimizing support time. That being said, it is imperative for you to understand technologies easily and quickly.
Certifications and courses
Once you have acquired the basic skill set required to become a technical writer, you can opt for courses to further upskill yourself. These courses include DITA training, API documentation, etc. You must be up-to-date with the latest skills required in the industry and work on building the same.
Communication skills
Technical writers need to depend a lot on SMEs to bridge information gaps in the documents. For this purpose, it is quintessential to have impeccable communication skills along with an understanding of technologies. This will help you to ask the relevant questions to the SMEs.
Continuous learning
Technical writers need to constantly upskill themselves with the latest tools and technologies. The tools and technologies used are constantly upgraded, which means that the writers are also required to keep learning throughout their careers.
Would you like to develop the skills? Do you want to transform your career in technical writing?
We at Metapercept Technology Services LLP offer a range of technical writing courses that will help you learn the basics of technical writing. Beyond training, you can use our technical writing, documentation consulting, information architecture, content migration, and resourcing services to fully benefit from our expertise and knowledge of the best practices.
To speak to our technical writing services experts send an email to info@metapercept.com, and for all your technical writing training requirements send an email to training@metapercept.com.
