5 Essential Skills Every Technical Tender Writer Should Have
Are you looking for experienced tender writers in Sydney to win the most valuable tenders in NSW? Look to experience and a successful track record as your primary considerations in choosing the right technical writer for your project.
Are you looking for tender writing courses in Sydney? Do you wish to become a technical tender writer yourself to be able to best right your own proposals? Instead why not hire an expert while you handle the important aspects of your business that you are good at? Read on to know what skills are required in a technical writer and decide for yourself.
1. Writing skills
Technical writing requires clear and concise writing skills because complex content needs to be presented in an easily understandable way. It needs to make sure that the readers find it informative as well as persuasive. Quality always wins over quantity (with respect to word or page count) because it is easier to read. If the content is not presented in an understandable way then the tender committee will not be able to understand your case and won’t consider your business.
2. Technical skills
Different technical writers possess different technical skills but they share an ability to pull apart material and rewrite it clearly. . The writer does not only have to document relevant information but also create a guide for readers to work their way through an activity or argument. They need to convey appropriate information in a structured way to ensure the reader can follow the narrative or set of instructions. The tender committee will value technical writing that presents expertise in an easily understood form as it shows them that you are capable of handling the assigned work.
3. Interviewing and listening skills
Writing technically is about assessing material, asking questions and listening to content experts to garner the information needed to draft or finalise the document. Interviewing and listening are vital for technical writing because the writer must produce accurate content quite often in areas they are not familiar with. The outputs need to be appropriate for a defined set of readers, be appropriately sophisticated for the industry and should guide and inform the readers. This might require interviewing content experts to extract the information that might not be written elsewhere. Understanding the tender requirements and writing appropriate responses is key to writing successful bids!
4. Software skills
There are many software tools in the market that can help technical writers produce more valuable content. The Adobe suite of products including Acrobat, in Design, Illustrator and even Photoshop are essential in providing content in a variety of presentation formats.
Microsoft Word contains several tools that can assist the writing process because they can help with synonyms, identify spelling and grammar mistakes, create global changes to terminology and also help keep track of the word or page count.
However you should never rely fully on Microsoft spell check as a proofing tool because it will not identify phonemes (e.g. there instead of their, complementary instead of complimentary, right instead of write etc). Multiple errors can make your work look unprofessional and may even have it rejected, so always double-check and have your tender response proof-read by someone else before submission.
5. Logic and structure skills
Content is not just about writing understandable sentences and paragraphs—it is about structuring what you write to guide the reader towards a conclusion. Structure plays a crucial role in making the material accessible to the reader. The content needs to flow logically from point to point.
Tender responses are complex so require good writing skills, and an ability to explain difficult concepts in plain English for all audiences. Drafting a bid is not as easy as writing material that no-one will understand.
