Trends in Technical Communication Workshop – Advanced Technical Writing Techniques

Discover the advanced new writing styles emerging in technical communication. Don’t get left behind: past clients include technical communicators from Citrix, IBM UK, Lloyds Banking Group, Sage plc and Visa International.

Next classroom course: Friday 19 July 2013, London
Online course for overseas clients: 1-3 July 2013

“Thank you very much for an interesting and thought-provoking course. The content and themes are very relevant to Citrix Technical Publications as we regularly look at trends and how we can respond and innovate.

The way in which customers consume our content is changing, as are the different expectations customers have regarding user assistance and support. Your course provided further insight and ideas regarding how to review and adapt to ensure content is relevant and appealing to our customers.”

Amanda Lindsay, Principal Author, Citrix.

User Assistance is changing

If you’ve read the technical writing blogs and magazines, you’ll have noticed a growing interest in new approaches to technical communication – asking whether all of the tried-and-tested writing methods from past decades still make sense today.

If you want to discover new approaches to technical writing, this one-day, hands-on advanced workshop is right for you.

You’ll find out how Technical Authors in leading companies are now applying techniques from other disciplines (such as psychology, copywriting, usability and elearning) into the information they create.

The course has been designed to be independent of any particular authoring tool, and to work in both a structured and unstructured authoring environment.

Comments about the course from delegates

“Excellent over-view and will be useful for practical application. Much food for thought – useful for starting ideas on improving (the) existing approach to Help files.”

“Very thought provoking.”

“Eye opener of a course. Info packed.”

“I just wanted to say ‘thank you!’ for the excellent training session yesterday.

I’m putting those principles to work today as I review the UA for one of our websites. The way I write has changed dramatically.”

“Excellent all round.”

“Stimulating and thought provoking. Introduced techniques that I certainly will use in the future.”

“Very interesting course though not what I thought it would be. Lots of new ideas and things to think about. Look forward to trying some of them out.”

“Excellent course. Lots to consider! Will certainly make me challenge what we do and have done for several years.”

A practical introduction

Using examples of Help pages from a number of applications (including from vendors such as Apple, Facebook, Google, HTC and Mozilla), you’ll learn how to spot where these techniques have been used, and you’ll have the opportunity to practise these in the workshop.

Who is this for?

This course is for anyone involved in technical writing who is:

Having trouble convincing others of the value of their work
Dissatisfied with the performance of their documentation
Wanting to create better, more effective user documents
Wanting to learn the new writing styles emerging in technical communication

What will I learn?

An overview of the traditional styles for technical writing, their strengths and weaknesses
Psychological techniques that the market leaders are using in their technical documentation, and how you can apply them
Usability techniques that the market leaders are using in their technical documentation and how you can apply them
Copywriting and elearning techniques that the market leaders are using in their technical documentation and how you can apply them
How to evaluate whether these new techniques would work for you (how to measure their effectiveness)
Knowing when and where you should use these techniques

Our expertise

Cherryleaf staff have spoken on trends on technical communication at conferences in the UK, Europe and the United States of America. We have also had articles published in specialist magazines such as Communicator and Intercom.

Prerequisites

This is an advanced course, so you must have experience of writing user documentation.

On site courses

You can have an onsite company course specially for your writing team.

Prices for on-site company courses depend on the level of customisation, location of the course and number of delegates. Contact us for more information.

Public courses

Next classroom course: Friday 19 July 2013, in Westminster, central London.

Places are limited to a maximum of 8 delegates.

The cost of the course is £325 ex VAT per delegate.

Booking is simple. Just click the BUY NOW logo below.

You will be taken straight to our ordering system. You can pay using credit card or debit card. It can also accept payments via PayPal. Prices ex VAT. Please note we accept payment in US $, STERLING and EUROS. You will be given the option to choose your currency when you confirm your credit card details.

The ordering system is secure and safe, via Sage Pay.

Your Credit Card Statement will show an entry entitled “Cherryleaf”.

Online course of the course for overseas delegates: 2 hour sessions 1-3 July 2013

For writers based outside of the UK, we’re trialling this course in a “live and online” format over the Web. Using Google+ Hangouts, the one day course will be spread over three days (3 x 2 hours):

1st July 10am EST -12 PM EDT, followed by
2nd July 10am EST-12 PM EDT, followed by
3rd July 10am EST-12 PM EDT

EDT = Eastern Daylight Time. (3pm-5pm UK time).

The course is live, not recorded, with delegates completing exercises and able to ask questions during the course. You will need to use a machine with a webcam and a microphone.

The first course would be limited to just 5 delegates. For this trial course, we’ve reduced the cost of the course to £275 ex VAT per delegate (There is no VAT for overseas clients).

Please note we accept payment in US $, STERLING and EUROS. You will be given the option to choose your currency when you confirm your credit card details.

(Note: The online workshop is available for non-UK clients only.)

Ordering is simple. Just click the BUY NOW logo above. You will be taken straight to our ordering system. You can pay using credit card or debit card. It can also accept payments via PayPal. Prices ex VAT.