The ability to effectively communicate complex ideas in a clear way is a key professional skill for engineers, and yet, technical writing skills is rarely formally taught as part of formative coursework. Rather, ask a range of engineers who are frequently required to write technical reports as part of their current role and many will tell you that they have simply developed this skill over time, with little formal training. While the ability to write and review technical reports is an essential competency, it can be frequently overlooked as a ‘soft skill,’ and in all honesty, if the phrase ‘technical report writing’ inspires in you a feeling of dread and boredom, you would not be alone in thinking that training in this area is going to be a chore.
Perhaps this is why, having attended Tiernan Ivory’s two-day Technical Report Writing CPD training course, delegates supply overwhelmingly positive feedback, even long after the training has taken place:
“Very useful, would recommend it. It was clear, concise, and helpful in providing an approach to organise and present large amounts of information. One of the most helpful and well delivered courses I've ever attended. Excellent course!”
“Excellent course – engaging and informative. Made very applicable by going through reports”
Tiernan Ivory is one of Ireland’s leading CPD consultants for engineers and has worked with Engineers Ireland since 1999. Tiernan holds an MA in English from University College Dublin and a Certificate in Training and Continuing Education from NUI Maynooth and is also trained as a Chartered Accountant. Tiernan has over twenty years’ experience in lecturing, training, and facilitation, and his ability to engage his audience is clearly demonstrated in the comments we receive from delegates who appreciate his teaching style and method of delivery:
“Excellent tutor who has great communication, listening, collaboration, empathy, and patience skills. Great effective teaching methods, including generating an engaging classroom presence.”
"Tiernan was an excellent presenter. Made the content clear and concise. His sense of humour and engagement with the listeners is brilliant."
It’s a tall order to not only fulfil learning objectives, but also present the methodology and content in an interesting, enjoyable, and engaging way to keep delegates focused, interactive, and enable them to learn from each other too.
One of the most challenging aspects of writing technical reports is finding strategies to communicate technical information to a non-technical audience in a clear and coherent way that relays essential information accurately and effectively. Like all of Tiernan’s courses, delegates come away with clear, practical tips and tools to implement immediately in their day-to-day work. On completion of the two-day Technical Report Writing course, delegates will be able to:
- Plan reports in a more efficient manner
- Make key decisions earlier in the preparation process
- Describe the generic structure underlying all reports
- Structure their own reports more clearly
- Identify and overcome their own report writing difficulties
- Write with greater confidence to a target readership
- Present information in a more reader-friendly style
Following the success of the Technical Report Writing course, Tiernan has recently developed a new one-day Reviewing Technical Documents for Engineers follow-on course to develop participants’ document review skills and enable them to step through the approval process with greater confidence. Delegates who have already undertaken the Technical Report Writing course are encouraged to attend, and the course is also offered as an In Company option. Employers who opt for in-house training have the added advantage of being able to tailor the course where possible to their specific requirements, and workshop real examples to aid learning.
Similar to the Technical Report Writing course feedback, this new Reviewing Technical Documents for Engineers course has been well received and lauded by delegates, who cite both Tiernan’s delivery style and the content covered as a highlight:
“Very engaging and well delivered.”
“The course was very enlightening. It was absolutely clear and well structured.”
“Tiernan is very engaging and knowledgeable. The course content is very practical and useful.”
On completion of this programme, participants will be able to:
- Review documents in a more practical, efficient manner
- Agree the reporting brief with the writer
- Identify the relationship between aim, structure, and sequence in documents
- Consider structured content for target readers
- Assess clarity and professionalism throughout documents
- Brief for a reader-friendly range of visuals
- Design standardising and time-saving templates
- Edit and proofread documents with greater effectiveness
Engineers who wish to develop this key competence in the area of writing and reviewing technical reports should contact the CPD Training Team for further information on upcoming available dates or enquire for In Company options:
Email cpdtraining@engineersireland.ie or call 01 665 1305.