Introduction:

When you have to communicate complex technical information, your technical report has to deliver your message clearly while demonstrating the rigorous methodology that underpins your findings and conclusions. An effective technical report has two key elements. The first is the content where the writer ought to present use very simple language including technical data, graphs, tables and formulae in a way that aids understanding for both technical and non-technical audience. The second is the structure where the writer ought to understand how best to organize their points to take the readers progressively through the report, build trust and lead the reader to your logical conclusions.

In this specially designed technical report writing course, we will show you how to write technical reports to help you write easier and smoother, resulting in more effective technical documents.  Thereafter, you will learn how to present your masterpiece confidently. Delegates who attend our clients for technical report writing training include leading companies in the oil and gas, petrochemicals, automotive, manufacturing, pharmaceutical, environmental and engineering sectors as well as a range of public sector organizations. So, you will learn how to present your masterpiece confidently.

Course Objectives:

By the end of this course, delegates will be able to:

• Analyze your audience and tailor the content to their specific needs
• Use best practice in structuring your document
• Choose words that support your message and don’t distract your reader
• Assess the best places to use graphics, and choose the right image to support your content
• Design and structure a document by analyzing the readership and selecting the right information           
• Write clearly and in the correct style for your readers
• Use correct language and grammar
• Use layout, typography and illustrations to help get your message across
• Edit your draft for maximum impact

Who Should Attend?

Managers, Executives, Managers, Team Leaders, Superintendents, Chief Engineers, Senior Engineers, Newly Qualified Engineers, Plant Managers, Project Managers, Quality Managers, Technical Managers, Supervisors, Financial Officers and Controllers, Process Managers, Strategic Planning Managers, Key Personnel, Champions, Officers, Supervisors, Department Heads, Engineers, Foremen, anyone in managerial and administrative positions, Engineering Professionals, Project and Design Engineers, Technical Operational Staff, Technical Sales Staff, Research and Development Professionals, Technical Personnel, Maintenance and Supervisory Managers, Maintenance Planning Staff, Technical Managers, Project team members

Course Outline:

The Basics of Technical Report Writing

• Technical reports – what they do
• Analysis of bad reports – what is not right?
• Psychometric assessment – how good are you in writing technical reports? – what is your writing problem
• The decoding and interpretation preference – how the reader’s mind assimilates information
• The encoding and delivery preference – how the writer’s mind generates & reports information
• The mismatch between encoding, decoding and interpreting information
• Reader friendly technical reports

Technical Report Objectives: Primary, Secondary, Tertiary

• The audience and your assumptions
• Information (including data) and details required
• Quality of information
• Information reliability
• Information quality control tools and techniques
• Assessing precision & accuracy of technical reports

Technical Report Strategy: Structuring the Framework

• How the mind understands information
• Logical and  sequential thinking skills builder
• Technical report structure, layout, format
• Components of a technical report
• The flow – presenting complex technical information
• Writing architecture – paragraph logic and linking
• Report strategy challenge – becoming a report architect

Technical Report Storyboarding

• An analysis of the best reports
• How did they tell the “story”?
• Nature of quality, professional reports

Structuring Bits of Information

• Getting the flow right
• Waste management in technical report writing

Technical Report Reverse Engineering

• Breaking down the technical report & its information
• Linking the information flow and understanding its logic
• What were the objectives, their classes & allocated information?

Preparing for the Report

• Project management for technical report writing
• Teamwork and logistics for major reports
• Estimating your development time
• Generate the blueprint
• Action oriented technical reporting
• Organize the sections and components
• The numbering system
• Content from existing documents, systems and experts

Generating the Report

• Clarity in reporting – use of emphasis, concise active voice
• Abbreviations, acronyms and double meanings
• Why readers become confused
• One person’s jargon is another person’s vocab
• Technical report tones for style and impact
• Using bullet points and list
• The art of managing redundancy
• Visual literacy – using images, charts, graphs, pictures, diagrams, sketches, tables
• Reducing the access time to critical information

Completing the Report

• Drafts to final copies – reviewing, editing and testing
• How good is your proofreading?
• Writing impressive conclusions
• Writing precise executive summaries
• Using writing/word software effectively for spelling, punctuations, grammar, structure, vocabulary, homonyms
• Technical report writing productivity

Presenting Your Report and Proposal with Confidence

• Structuring your technical presentation for both non-technical and technical audience
• Tips to prepare and rehearse your presentation for maximum audience engagement
• Captivate your audience's attention
• Commanding credibility, authority and control over your presentation session
• Manage the energy and different behaviors in the room
• Take difficult questions and challenging behavior without losing cool

COURSE LOCATIONS