The Nine Characteristics of Technical Communication

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The Nine Characteristics of Technical
Communication

• Lake Land College

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Characteristic 1

• CONTENT

• Conveys technical aspects of any field
• Presents accurate, appropriate information
  adjusted to the audience

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Characteristic 2

• Context

• Responds to specific situations
• Fulfills specific, identified needs
• Often becomes easily dated

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Characteristic 3

• Purpose

• Informs and Persuades general and technical
  audiences to understand a concept or to take
  action

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Characteristic 4

• Audience

• Addresses identified readers, listeners, or
  viewers who often have multiple needs and
  constraints
• Recognizes that multiple interpretations of text,
  or presentation, or graphic will occur

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Characteristic 5

• Organization

• Presents information so that it is logical,
  accessible, and retrievable, so that its easy to
  comprehend and recall.

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Characteristic 6

• Visuals

• Often conveys content through various kinds of
  visuals and graphics (rather than text) that aid
  understanding and decision making

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Characteristic 7

• Document Design

• Designs documents to contribute to the accuracy
  and speed of comprehension and recall of
  information
• Uses standard paper and electronic formats to
  take advantage of audience expectations

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Characteristic 8

• Usability

• Assures that a document is functional, usable
  that it enables users to easily and accurately
  complete the task or activity for which the
  document is intended.

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Characteristic 9

• Language Conventions

• Attempts to be straightforward differentiates
  opinions from verifiable information
• Uses clear and direct language without
  unnecessary complexity often uses short-to
  medium-length sentences, subject-verb-object
  word order stylistically varied but simple