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How can you make your technical manual accessible to a diverse audience?

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If you work in environmental services, you probably have to write or follow technical manuals for various tasks and procedures. Technical manuals are documents that provide instructions, guidelines, and specifications for using equipment, performing tasks, or complying with regulations. They are essential for ensuring safety, quality, and efficiency in your work. However, writing a technical manual that is clear, concise, and accessible to a diverse audience can be challenging. You have to consider the language, format, design, and content of your manual to make sure it meets the needs and expectations of your readers. In this article, we will share some tips on how to make your technical manual accessible to a diverse audience.

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1 Know your audience

Before you start writing your technical manual, you need to identify and analyze your audience. Who are they? What is their level of education, experience, and expertise? What are their goals, motivations, and challenges? How will they use your manual? These questions will help you tailor your manual to suit your audience's needs and preferences. For example, if your audience is composed of different groups of workers with varying backgrounds and skills, you may need to use simple and consistent language, avoid jargon and acronyms, and provide definitions and examples. You may also need to use different levels of detail, depending on the complexity of the task or procedure.

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Sara L. Molyneux

Insightful Technical Communicator with Equity Vocation
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Accessibility can be restricted by language, assumptions about learning styles and cognition, and assumptions about an audience's sensory and physical needs. Broadening a manual to work seamlessly with screen readers, braille transcription, interactive media (providing materials using video, audio, captioning, examples and questions that require input from the user), and a variety of language translations/localization can assist with making the material more accessible.

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Ryan Haber

Principal Product Manager driving API innovation at Pluralsight
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Visuals of evergreen content, accompanied by descriptions of the various visual components, can help readers who learn better through a visual modality.

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2 Use plain language

One of the most important aspects of making your technical manual accessible is using plain language. Plain language is a style of writing that is clear, concise, and easy to understand. It avoids unnecessary words, vague expressions, passive voice, and long sentences. It uses common words, active voice, and short sentences. It also uses headings, subheadings, lists, tables, and diagrams to organize and present information. Plain language helps your readers find what they need, understand what they read, and apply what they learn. It also reduces the risk of confusion, errors, and accidents.

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Ryan Haber

Principal Product Manager driving API innovation at Pluralsight
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In addition to plain language, plain structure is also very valuable. Just like plain language uses simple word choice, direct statements, and short sentences, plain structure uses short paragraphs about single topics, stays on one topic at a time, and includes only what is necessary for the reader to know. Combining plain language and plain structure not only helps readers with different language needs but it can also accelerate learning in mainstream audiences.

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3 Format and design your manual

When formatting and designing your technical manual, it is important to keep your readers in mind. You want to make sure your manual is easy to read, scan, and navigate. To achieve this, use a clear and consistent structure that includes a table of contents, an introduction, and a summary. Divide the manual into sections, subsections, and topics and label them using headings and subheadings. Include page numbers, footers, and headers to identify the manual and its parts. Leave enough white space between lines, paragraphs, and sections. Utilize margins to create a visual border around the text. Align your text to the left and justify it to the right; avoid using center or right alignment as they can make your text harder to read. Select fonts that are legible, simple, and consistent; use different font sizes, weights, and styles to create contrast and hierarchy. Use colors sparingly and purposefully. Utilize graphics such as images, icons, charts, or diagrams to illustrate or explain information; ensure these graphics are relevant, clear, and labeled.

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4 Test and revise your manual

The final step of making your technical manual accessible is testing and revising it. This process helps evaluate the manual's effectiveness, accuracy, and usability. To test and revise your manual, start by proofreading and editing for spelling, grammar, punctuation, and style errors. Make sure the manual is consistent, coherent, and complete with the help of spell checkers, grammar checkers, and style guides. After that, get feedback from your audience by asking them questions such as: Is the manual clear, concise, and easy to understand? Does the manual answer questions and solve problems? Is it easy to read, scan, and navigate? Use their feedback to make changes and improvements. Finally, test your manual in real situations to see if it helps you perform tasks correctly and efficiently. See if it meets standards and regulations of your field. Use observations to make further adjustments and refinements.

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Ryan Haber

Principal Product Manager driving API innovation at Pluralsight
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A key attitude to adopt as a technical writer is that it is your job to convey challenging material to your anticipated audiences. It is not their job to understand dense or complicated prose. If there is a problem with their understanding, it is your problem to solve. There is a real joy in meeting your audience where they are at.

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5 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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How can you make your technical manual accessible to a diverse audience?

1

2

3

4

5

1 Know your audience

2 Use plain language

3 Format and design your manual

4 Test and revise your manual

5 Here’s what else to consider

Environmental Services

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How can you make your technical manual accessible to a diverse audience?

1

2

3

4

5

1 Know your audience

2 Use plain language

3 Format and design your manual

4 Test and revise your manual

5 Here’s what else to consider

Environmental Services

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