3.3 Technical communication and relaying information

One of the key, most easily identifiable elements of technical communication is that technical communicators often work to provide information. As Rick Lippincott said in an issue of the technical communication journal Intercom, as technical communicators, “we explain things” (2014).^[1] Technical communication can look many different ways, but a common thread is the purpose of explaining often complex information to non specialist audiences. As he explains in his article, technical communication is a very old field, and he believes it is a field that will last well into the future. Whenever there is something new to be explained, technical communicators are needed. In cluster 3.2 we talked about the relationship between technology and technical communication. The term technology is quite broad, and refers to much more than digital technology; any time there is something new that folks need or want to use, technical communicators act as an information bridge between the experts and the users.

Even though technical communication works to explain things, that does not mean that the work of technical communicators is purely objective or removed from bias. As sections 1 and 2 claim, technical communication is rhetorical and it is engaged in issues of social justice. So, technical communicators need to be aware of the way in which diversity, equity, and inclusion impact their decision making when they make decisions about how to best explain something so that it is most accessible for their specific target audience. Further, technical communicators must explain things while working within various power structures. Often, they work with subject matter experts to not only explain but persuade those in power to take action. Or, they work with subject matter experts to explain things to an audience so that they can make decisions that empower them.

One way to think about technical communication is to consider the windowpane theory of how language works. You can imagine that language is a clear windowpane, and that its job is to be as invisible as possible, so that information can “pass through it” and on to the users. Or, you can examine that windowpane and recognize that, no matter how clear it is, the windowpane itself changes light that passes through it. While this is not a perfect metaphor, it does come up often in discussing different frameworks for how language functions: Is language like a clear windowpane, just letting information pass directly through? Or is language itself a technology that shapes how that information is understood and received?

In this text, we do not consider technical communication to be merely a clear windowpane. Rather, we frame language–and the technical communicators making choices about their language usage–as always impacting how information is shaped and received.

So, what does this mean for our approach to technical communication? If we understand language as a technology rather than as something like a clear windowpane, then language is playing a much more important role than merely relaying or relating an objective true. Instead, language is actually shaping the information. In this sense, language works to construct or, at least, impact the truth it conveys. Technical communicators must should recognize the ways in which language shapes, constructs, or obscures the information they want their audience to receive. Part of this work is understanding and assessing the rhetorical situation and being aware of their own biases and contexts. Then, it is important to understand your audience, as much as you can, and how their own contexts (their culture, age, language, education, race, class, gender, sexual orientation, etc.) intersects with how they use language, their beliefs, and how they might receive information.

If you have generally thought of language as a clear windowpane, and if you have particularly considered technical communication an example of language usage that is free of context or bias, try to pay close attention to the ways in which language is steeped in a specific context. Notice how you already choose language based on your target audience. An easy example would be thinking about how you develop a public health pamphlet for a group of junior high students and how you would articulate that same information to a group of research scientists at a national conference. A trickier example might be how you would design an elementary school website for students, families, school faculty, and staff to share information. In the second example, your audience is more complex and it may be less immediately clear how your language choices impact multiple audiences.

In both examples above–explaining data related to public health to an expert and non-expert audience and creating a school website with various audiences in mind–language is a tool that not only informs but also persuades, shapes how audiences move through the world, and creates community.

In Coronavirus at a Glance: Infographic, Johns Hopkins Medicine explains complex public health information to a wide audience. While Johns Hopkins Medicine works to explain Covid-19 in a way that is accurate and appropriate, this information must also be accessible to their audience. Consider how they use images and text together to explain things. Consider, too, how their use of images and text are simple and straightforward but also influenced by cultural considerations. While the information presented could be considered singular (meaning that it is correct, accurate, or objective), there are multiple ways to explain this information. The language used to explain Covid-19 is not neutral, but is itself a technology. Considering an infographic as an example might make it clearer that the language itself shapes the information. In other words, technical communicators made intentional, calculated, and specific choices about how to communicate and what language (including images, colors, shapes, document design) best communicates in this context.