“Creative” Technical Writing

Have you been tasked with writing a technical document? Are you dreading the upcoming drudgery? Don’t fret! A technical document doesn’t have to be boring. You can add a little flair to it and make it more enjoyable for you to write and your audience to read. 

In this instance, I’m not referring to an information technology, engineering or other “hard science” document (though some of these tips may apply). I’m referring to a business plan, strategic plan, management plan, policy document, or white paper. These documents are used to:

• Help your organization improve its processes
• Instruct employees on proper conduct
• Plan your future operations
• Share your vision

Of course, there are many other reasons, but that should give you a good idea of what I’m talking about. Here are some tips to help improve the readability of your document. 

Add Inspirational Quotes

Use Google (or your favorite quote book) to find an appropriate quote from a famous person to add some inspiration to your document. Place the quote on the top of the Executive Summary or Introduction page. It will “set the mood” for the reader. 

Tell a Story

The document is not just busy work for your team to write and disseminate. It’s a story about your vision, your expectations, and your organization’s future. Tell a story. Stories have three acts: A beginning, middle and end. The beginning introduces your characters. The middle introduces a conflict or issue. The end brings both your characters and conflict together with (hopefully) a happy ending. 

Be Quippy

Is there some appropriate, low-key humor involved in your story? Add it to a sidebar in the document or write something humorous in the caption area of a graph or table (“We’ve got a delicious slice of the market in the above pie chart!”). Your readers will remember something that stands out. Note: be extremely careful with humor. Don’t go over the top or be racy with anything. Know your audience!

Have a Conversation

When you’re writing, picture one or more of your potential audience members. Write like you’re talking to them about your organization’s future, goals, and vision. As with the above section, be careful. You don’t want to write like you talk, but you want to write in a comfortable manner that the reader can relate to and understand. 

Pull Quotes

Use pull quotes in your document. This will draw the eye of the reader and break up the flow of the text. This technique is a small part of the user design and user experience (UD/UX) process. The experience of the end-user (reader) is key to effective communication. It’s crucial that you learn more about this process and its techniques. 

That’s it. Pretty simple stuff. Don’t fall into the trap of just generating content for the sake of generating it, or to just get the job done. Show that you enjoy the writing process and your readers will reward you by reading your content. Happy writing!