Searching for a Definition

by UNT English 4180 students

To further our understanding of technical communication, our student team polled several University of North Texas students with that topic in mind. We asked them, What is a technical communicator? The most common answer, from 12 of the 47 people polled, was "someone who communicates technically". Concise as the answer is, it still leaves us with questions.

Several people, four in fact, were similarly clueless; their answer to our query was “I don’t know.” Seven people equated the profession directly with computers, and one person, an education major, was convinced that a technical communicator was a computer.

Negotiator, machine, “someone who wears professional clothes,” “someone who uses proper grammar,” and “somebody who uses PowerPoint presentations” are all answers that could be correct in a sense, but aren’t exactly inherent to the profession. A speech-language pathology major claimed that “an individual that transfers everyday speech into computers and symbols” was a technical communicator, but that definition seems a little off the mark.

"Like a technical writer, except broader" is a definition from a philosophy major that is closer to the philosophy of technical communication but still slightly obtuse. A biochemistry major continues the exploration, declaring a technical communicator is "someone who cuts text to its most basic elements to facilitate quick referencing." Assuming that they're using the verb "cut" to mean "shape" or "construct", this answer is effective, but it lacks scope because it only references text; technical communicators instead use a variety of media.

Closing the gap, a biology major emphatically states that a technical communicator is "clearly someone who can get their point across with no option of misinterpretation from his or her audience." A computer science major then summed up that point precisely when he declares a technical communicator to be "someone who can speak or write effectively to any demographic or group."

This description strictly echoes the way other technical communicators described their profession in our interviews—transforming complicated processes into a format that is easily and universally understood.

Finally, a sound definition is offered to our seemingly impossible question. Though technical communication remains broad and elusive—part of its charm, thankfully, "someone who communicates technically" is now appropriately explained.