3.2 Technical communication and technology

We have already talked about the impact of technology on technical communication, and we’ve talked a bit about the relationship between technology and technical communication. In this section, we will continue to reflect on that relationship as we consider whether technical communication is always connected to technology in some way (either by way of content or focus or because technical communicators use technology in their work). How have advances in technology changed technical communication, and the role of technical communicators?

The answers to this question might be quite obvious: as communication technology changes, technical communicators must learn how to utilize those technologies. Another impact that technology has on technical communication comes in what communicators are writing about, not just how they are doing that writing. In other words, as a new technology develops and is sold or distributed, technical communicators are tasked with explaining that technology to users.

Many argue that technical communication does not need to be writing about technology (you might create a very technical description of a process for planting tomatoes in your home garden, or you might consider recipes a kind of technical communication). Part of the trickiness, as we’ve already covered, comes in how we define or understand technology (recipes utilize technologies like ovens or electric mixers, and when I’m gardening I certainly use a variety of tools). While the subject of technical communication may or may not be technology-focused, technical communicators often utilize various forms of digital technologies to communicate with a target audience. Strictly speaking, any type of written communication uses technology (the pencil and paper are technologies, after all, just not terribly recent developments). When we hear the word “technology,” we often think of new technology or digital technology (we aren’t often thinking of pencils). Technical communicators will often write for the web, or communicate using a combination of various modes such as text, image, video, sound, etc. We refer to these types of communication as multimodal, which means that a text is using more than one communication mode (such as words plus images).

Document design is an important part of technical communication, and, as we’ve discussed already, an important element in accessibility of information. Consider how important it is to create visual organizational cues for your reader, and how useful it is to use images or graphics alongside your text. Consider, too, that document design and the use of various communication modes should not be secondary to the work of a technical communicator; rather this work is an important, integral part of technical communication.

In fact, one thing that might set technical communication apart from other forms is the focus of readability and document design. Another aspect that helps us to define technical communication is the relationship between technical communication and technology, and the importance of various communication modes.

Finally, remember that an important consideration for this text and our approach to defining the field of technical communication includes a framing of technical communication as always concerned with diversity, equity, and inclusion, in part because it is a communication that is heavily dependent on a relationship between communicator and audience. Technology, too, is tied up in issues of social justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion. Just as there is a strong relationship between technical communication and diversity, equity, and inclusion, there is a strong relationship between each of these things and technology. Technology has often increased access to various information and communication, but it is also very important to consider how we can use technology or leverage technology towards increased access (rather than utilizing technology as a barrier to information).

While technical communication is not limited to communication about technology, such as a user manual to a new smartphone, technical communication is impacted by technology. Further, technical communication often utilizes technology as a way to reach and communicate with an audience. As technology changes, so does the role and work of technical communicators.