An updated edition of the classic guide to technical communication Consider that 20 to 50 percent of a technology professional's time is spent communicating with others. Whether writing a memo, preparing a set of procedures, or making an oral presentation, effective communication is vital to your professional success.

Preface xiii PART I Getting Started: Writing the First Drafts Can Engineers Write? 3 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-27(1) March 1984 Joan Knapp Preparing to Write the Document: A Worksheet for Situational Analysis in the Workplace 7 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-27(1) March 1990 Ronald J. Nelson Issue Trees: A Tool to Aid the Engineering Writer 12 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-37(2) June 1994 Joan Temple Dennett and Michael Hseih Ready, Aim—Write! 21 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-31(1) March 1988 Ruth C. Savakinas Beginnings and Endings: Keys to Better Engineering Technical Writing 24 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-40(4) December 1997 Marcia Martens Pierson and Bion L. Pierson Could You Be Clearer? An Examination of the Multiple Perspectives of Clarity 30 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-35(2) June 1992 Ronald E. Dulek The Grammar Instinct 34 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-45(2) June 2002 Alan D. Manning Comparing the Two Cultures in Technical Writing 39 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-34(2) June 1991 Don Bush PART II Construction and Content: Putting Documents Together Creating a Doc Spec 45 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-42(2) June 1999 Liz Wing Write a Good Technical Report 49 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-27(1) March 1984 Gael D. Ulrich How to Avoid the Transitional Ax in Indirect Bad News Messages 55 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-34(1) March 1991 Thomas L.Wiseman Job Hunting: Sharpening Your Competitive Edge 5 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-27(4) December 1984 Ron S. Blicq How to Write a Recommendation 6 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-27(4) December 1984 Alan D. Wilcox Some Guidance on Preparing Technical Articles for Publication 7 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-32(1) March 1989 Richard Manley, Judith Graham, and Ralph Baxter Today’s Style Guide:Trusted Tool with Added Potential 8 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-41(1) March 1998 Jane Perkins and Cassandra Maloney “Professional Communication” and the “Odor of Mendacity”: The Persistent Suspicion that Skillful Writing is Successful Lying 8 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-38(3) September 1995 Edmond H. Weiss PART III Text and Graphics: Presenting Information Visually Editing Visual Media 97 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-41(1) March 1998 Thomas R. Williams and Deborah A. Harkus Visual Discriminability of Headings in Text 110 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-35(2) June 1992 Thomas R. Williams and Jan H. Spyridakis Choosing the Right Graph 117 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-45(1) March 2002 Jean-Luc Doumont and Philippe Vandenbroek Table Construction: Do’s and Don’ts 123 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-32(1) March 1989 Eva Dukes Safety Labels: What to Put in Them, How to Write Them, and Where to Place Them 128 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-30(3) September 1987 Christopher Velotta Editing Math: What to Do with the Symbols 134 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-33(3) June 1990 Barry W. Burton Displaying Scientific Graphics on Computer 138 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-40(2) June 1997 Janet E. Lincoln and Donald L. Monk PART IV Manuals and Procedures: Giving Directions that Work Designing and Writing Operating Manuals 155 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-27(1) March 1984 Lidia Lopinto Manual Dexterity—What Makes Instructional Manuals Usable 158 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-27(2) June 1984 James P. Gleason and Joan P. Wackerman Selecting and Switching: Some Advantages of Diagrams Over Tables and Lists for Presenting Instructions 161 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-41(4) December 1998 Angelique Boekelder and Michael Steehouder Using a Structured Design Analysis To Simplify Complex In-House Computer Manuals 174 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-35(1) March 1992 John S. Craig Single-Source Manuals 180 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-37(2) June 1994 Gary Bist The Effects of Screen Captures in Manuals: A Textual and Two Visual Manuals Compared 187 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-42(2) June 1999 Mark Gellevij, Hans van der Meij, Ton deJong, and Jules Pieters The User Edit: Making Manuals Easier to Use 202 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-24(1) March 1981 Marshall A. Atlas PART V Proposals: Writing to Win the Customer Fifteen Questions to Help You Write Winning Proposals 207 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-26(2) June 1983 T. M. Georges The Short Proposal:Versatile Tool for Communicating Corporate Culture in Competitive Climates 208 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-32(2) June 1989 Bernard E. Budish and Richard L. Sandhusen Technical Writing and Illustrating Strategies for Winning Government Contracts 213 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-28(2) June 1992 Robert B. Greenly Storyboarding Can Help Your Proposal 219 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-32(1) March 1989 Robert A. Barakat Developing Winning Proposal Strategies 225 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-34(3) September 1991 Robert A. Barakat Clarification Questions That Work 235 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-31(2) June 1988 Annette D. Reilly Proposals: Write to Win 238 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-26(2) June 1983 Clark E. Beck Broadening Employment Horizons:Transferring Proposal Writing Skills from For-Profit to Nonprofit Organizations 240 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-39(2) June 1996 Sherry Shebley Hamilton PART VI Revising and Editing: Refining Your Documents Theory and Practice of Editing Processes in Technical Communication 247 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-28(1) March 1985 Roger E. Masse When the Basics Aren’t Enough: Finding a Comprehensive Editor 256 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-37(3) September 1994 Laurel K. Grove Collaborative Writing in the Workplace 260 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-32(3) September 1989 Charles R. Stratton Reverse Engineering: The Outline As Document Restructuring Tool 265 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-29(3) September 1986 Dietrich Rathjens How Writing Helps R&D Work 271 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-30(2) June 1987 Herbert B. Michaelson The Paradox of Revision: A Study of Writing as a Product in the Revision of Manuals 271 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-39(1) March 1996 Alice I. Philbin and Melissa M. Spirek Online Editing: Mark-Up Models and the Workplace Lives of Editors and Writers 279 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-38(3) June 1995 David K. Farkas and Steven E. Poltrock PART VII Oral Presentations: Speaking Effectively to Groups A Quick and Easy Strategy for Organizing a Speech 289 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-33(3) September 1990 Richard A. Lindeborg A Good Speech is Worth a Thousand (Written) Words 293 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-27(1) March 1984 Bert Decker The Engineering Presentation—Some Ideas on How to Approach and Present It 296 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-26(4) December 1983 Ronald C. Rosenburg Authenticity Beats Eloquence 299 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-30(2) June 1987 Susan Dressel and Joe Chew Handling a Hostile Audience—With Your Eyes 301 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-32(1) March 1989 Gilda Carle Improving Oral Marketing Presentations in the Technology-Based Company 304 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-31(2) June 1988 Michael F. Warlum Illustrations in Oral Presentations: Photographs 308 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-41(3) September 1998 Thomas Walsh Producing a Video on a Technical Subject: A Guide 312 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-36(2) June 1993 Danny Dowhal, Gary Bist, Peter Kohlman, Stan Musker, and Heather Rogers PART VIII Listening, Meeting, and Teamwork:Working with Others to Get Results You Haven’t Heard a Word I Said: Getting Managers to Listen 323 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-37(1) March 1994 Jo Procter Becoming an Effective Listener 326 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-23(2) June 1980 Marion E. Haynes Toward Better Meetings: A Psychologist’s View 330 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-24(3) September 1981 Eugene Raudsepp Presenting the Successful Technical Seminar 333 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-26(1) March 1983 Thomas Ealey Project Characteristics and Group Communication: An Investigation 336 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-45(2) June 2002 Tom L. Roberts, Paul H. Cheney, and Paul D. Sweeney Between Silence and Voice: Communicating in Cross-Functional Project Teams 351 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-34(1) March 1991 Linda Loehr A Dialogue Technique to Enhance Electronic Communication in Virtual Teams 357 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-43(2) June 2000 Bernard C. Y. Tan, Kwok-Kee Wei, Wayne W. Huang, and Guet-Ngoh Ng Videoconferencing as a Communication Tool 370 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-40(1) March 1997 Jan A. Sprey PART IX Global Communication: Conveying Meaning Internationally World Language Status Does Not Ensure World Class Usage 379 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-35(1) March 1992 Joann T. Dennett English Language Education for Specific Professional Needs 380 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-44(3) September 2001 Thomas Orr When Culture and Rhetoric Contrast: Examining English as the International Language of Technical Communication 385 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-42(4) December 1999 Kirk St. Amant The Organization of Japanese Expository Passages 389 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-42(3) September 1999 Waka Fukuoka and Jan H. Spyridakis Measuring the Translatability of Simplified English in Procedural Documents 398 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-40(1) March 1997 Jan H. Spyridakis, Heather Holmback, and Serena K. Shubert Babel in Document Design: The Evaluation of Multilingual Texts 407 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-43(3) September 2000 Leo Lentz and Jacquelin Hulst Aligning International Editing Efforts with Global Business Strategies 417 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-35(2) June 1992 Carol Leininger and Rue Yuan Tackling the Needs of Foreign Academic Writers: A Case Study 425 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-40(1) March 1997 Shimona Kushner PART X The Internet: Making the Most of Cyberspace Stylistic Guidelines for E-Mail 433 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-77(4) December 1994 Renee B. Horowitz and Marian G. Barchilon “Who’s Reading My E-Mail?” A Study of Professionals’ E-Mail Usage and Privacy Perceptions in the Workplace 439 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-40(1) March 1997 Patricia A. Chociey Customer Partnering: Data Gathering For Complex On-Line Documentation 446 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-40(2) June 1997 JoAnn T. Hackos, Molly Hammar, and Arthur Elser Challenges in Developing Research-Based Web Design Guidelines 455 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-43(3) September 2000 Mary B. Evans The Web and Corporate Communication: Potentials and Pitfalls 466 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-39(1) March 1996 Gary Ritzenthaler and David H. Ostroff Editing A Web Site: Extending the Levels of Edit 473 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-41(1) March 1998 Steven L. Anderson, Charles P. Campbell, Nancy Hindle, Jonathan Price, and Randall Scasny Web Accessibility for People with Disabilities: An Introduction for Web Developers 484 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-44(4) December 2001 Jeff Carter and Mike Markel A Conceptual Framework for International Web Design 493 IEEE Trans. Prof. Comm. PC-44(2) June 2001 Fatemah M. Zahedi, William V. Van Pelt, and Jaeki Song Index 515 About the Editor 519

An updated edition of the classic guide to technical communication Consider that 20 to 50 percent of a technology professional’s time is spent communicating with others. Whether writing a memo, preparing a set of procedures, or making an oral presentation, effective communication is vital to your professional success. This anthology delivers concrete advice from the foremost experts on how to communicate more effectively in the workplace. The revised and expanded second edition of this popular book completely updates the original, providing authoritative guidance on communicating via modern technology in the contemporary work environment. Two new sections on global communication and the Internet address communicating effectively in the context of increased e-mail and web usage. As in the original, David Beer’s Second Edition discusses a variety of approaches, such as: Writing technical documents that are clear and effectiveGiving oral presentations more confidentlyUsing graphics and other visual aids judiciouslyHolding productive meetingsBecoming an effective listener The new edition also includes updated articles on working with others to get results and on giving directions that work. Each article is aimed specifically at the needs of engineers and others in the technology professions, and is written by a practicing engineer or a technical communicator. Technical engineers, IEEE society members, and technical writing teachers will find this updated edition of David Beer’s classic Writing and Speaking in the Technology Professions an invaluable guide to successful communication.

"I wish I had known of this publication years ago. It would have made the growth of a professional career less chaotic and better organized...highly recommended to all professionals..." (Journal of Veterinary and Human Toxicology, Vol. 45, No. 5, October 2003)