6 votes

Is there a book to help better explain technical thoughts to layman terms ?

Would like some help to explain technical thoughts and troubleshooting to simple terms for management or teammates from other teams

8 comments

  1. [3]
    cfabbro
    (edited )
    Link
    Unless I am misreading what you're asking for, this basically sounds like you're looking for books on technical communication / technical writing. One of my friends was a technical writer for the...

    Unless I am misreading what you're asking for, this basically sounds like you're looking for books on technical communication / technical writing. One of my friends was a technical writer for the FAA, so I can ask them for some book recommendations in the morning... but to start you off and hopefully set you down the right path (based on a quick google search):

    Top 7 books for Technical Writers
    40 Foundational Books for Technical Writing

    2 votes
    1. [2]
      vakieh
      Link Parent
      Technical writing is usually designed away from laymen and towards technical specificity - which is useful when you need that specificity, but is useless for eg an elevator pitch.

      Technical writing is usually designed away from laymen and towards technical specificity - which is useful when you need that specificity, but is useless for eg an elevator pitch.

      1. cfabbro
        (edited )
        Link Parent
        That is not necessarily true. It's an incredibly broad field and many technical writers jobs are specifically to translate the highly technical into layman friendly plain language. E.g. User...

        That is not necessarily true. It's an incredibly broad field and many technical writers jobs are specifically to translate the highly technical into layman friendly plain language. E.g. User manuals are usually composed by technical writers. And my own friend's job was to take flight manuals and engineering documentation from aircraft manufacturers and rewrite them so they could be understood by policy staff.

        I agree that technical writing is not really useful for elevator pitches... but OP specifically mentioned troubleshooting, which falls squarely in the technical communication/writing sphere, IMO.

  2. Weldawadyathink
    Link
    You should check out Thing Explainer. Thing Explainer: Complicated Stuff in Simple Words https://www.amazon.com/dp/0544668251/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_ERFRCbADR2D7E It explains a bunch of complex...

    You should check out Thing Explainer.
    Thing Explainer: Complicated Stuff in Simple Words https://www.amazon.com/dp/0544668251/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_ERFRCbADR2D7E
    It explains a bunch of complex things using only the 1000 most commonly used English words.

    2 votes
  3. vakieh
    Link
    I've not found a book on it (I'm sure they exist, though I'm less sure they'd be any good). There's a concept called the 3-minute thesis that is used quite a bit in an academic setting, and the...

    I've not found a book on it (I'm sure they exist, though I'm less sure they'd be any good).

    There's a concept called the 3-minute thesis that is used quite a bit in an academic setting, and the business counterpart to this is the elevator pitch. You will find a lot of resources on these 2 terms of you go looking. Personally I find workshops to be far better at this than anything written down though, you need that practice and feedback of having someone repeatedly say 'huh?'.

    1 vote
  4. [3]
    marcus
    Link
    Thanks for the quick reply. It's more for conversational uses rather than technical writing.

    Thanks for the quick reply. It's more for conversational uses rather than technical writing.

    1. Pilgrim
      Link Parent
      You might try looking up the topics you'd like to discuss on the Simple English Wikipedia which takes complex topics and explains them using "simple English" words. Example:...

      You might try looking up the topics you'd like to discuss on the Simple English Wikipedia which takes complex topics and explains them using "simple English" words.

      Example: https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_network

      2 votes
    2. cfabbro
      (edited )
      Link Parent
      I assume you meant to reply to me rather than make a new top-level comment. ;) And sure, I understand that you are looking for a book to help you in a more conversational setting, but IMO the...

      I assume you meant to reply to me rather than make a new top-level comment. ;)

      And sure, I understand that you are looking for a book to help you in a more conversational setting, but IMO the fundamental skills underpinning both conversation on technical subjects and technical communication/writing are the same, i.e. taking complicated procedures and highly technical terminology and making them more easily understood to your target audience, in your case management and coworkers.

      p.s. And the reason I linked to books on the fundamentals is because you didn't specify which field you work in... but if you let me know that I can try to find ones more applicable to your specific needs.

      1 vote