Part I – Week1-4 Technical and Professional Communication

Why Study Technical and Professional Communication?

A model of interpersonal communication.

Verbal Communication.

The significance of non-verbal communication.

Impression management.

Part one (Text book 1); Chapter 6 (Text book 2)1

Technical and Professional Communication

What is Communication (In General)?

When you explain/share an idea to/with someone;

Transmission of a messages from one person to another (small audience);

Transfer of meaning between and among people (large audience);

... ... Etc.

successful unsuccessful

In essence the real communication that occurs is not merely the words spoken or

written by you, but also what another person understands about the words or

actions you have used.

... Good or bad lecture for example...2

Why Study Technical and Professional Communication?

Part I – Week1-4 Technical and Professional Communication

Rather than expending additional energies in tedious debates about

definitions, current practicing professionals of technical communication

(whatever we think it is) in both academe and industry should simply

acknowledge that all communication – whether it is primarily „technical‟ or

whether it better fits another genre – is multidisciplinary and constantly

evolving. Then we should simply get on with our work.

Technical communication is defined solely as a "practice"

Definition of technical communication.

3Tedious: tiresome because of length or dullness; boring

Part I – Week1-4 Technical and Professional Communication

Technical Communication began in the modern era as Technical Writing

and has transformed to include many types of media and communication.

This transition has often required the field to redefine Technical

Communication. Definitional structures encompass what people in TC do,

what they know, and how the field interprets itself.

Skills of a Good Communicator:

• Speaks and writes clearly

• Listens actively to other people

• Shows that they understand the other person‟s ideas by giving feedback

• Looks at the other person when speaking or listening

• Gives the other person time to say what they want to say

• Shows respect for the views of others

• Asks questions to show interest and makes sure they understand the other

person

• Uses appropriate non-verbal behavior such as gestures and facial

expressions

• Does not interrupt or speak over the top of the other person.

• ... Etc.

4

Part I – Week1-4 Technical and Professional Communication

Objectives of Communication:

• To enquire; To inform; To persuade; To entertain; ...

5

What makes a “TECHNICAL communicator”?

• A person who receives complicated information and interprets it into easily

understood language for people to use.

• A person who communicate specialised information in a wide variety of

formats to a wide variety of audiences.

• Technical communicators explain specialised information about subjects such

as technology, regulations and procedures in a very simple manner.

• Technical communicators can organize and explain complex concepts in

medicine, business, technology in other fields so that ordinary people can

understand and use the information.

Part I – Week1-4 Technical and Professional Communication

Importance of good communication skills...continued

6

Part I – Week1-4 Technical and Professional Communication

Importance of good communication skills...continued

7

96% 74%

Part I – Week1-4 Technical and Professional Communication

8

Part I – Week1-4 Technical and Professional Communication

Communication Terms:

• Communication: The transfer of meaning among people

• Sender: Establish the message; Encodes the message; Chooses the channel to send it

• Receiver: Decodes the message; Provide a feed back to the sender

• Message: What is communicated.

• Encoding: Converting a message to symbolic form

• Decoding: Retranslating a sender‟s message

• Channel: The medium through which a message travels

9

A model of interpersonal communication.

Interpersonal communications means "showing appropriate ways to exchange

your ideas and needs."

You listen to and acknowledge other people's thoughts and feelings: Rather

than showing that you only care about broadcasting your feelings and insisting

that others agree with you, you encourage others to express what they are

thinking and feeling. You listen and try to understand.

You express your own thoughts and feelings openly and directly: If you only

listen to what other people are thinking or feeling and you don't express your

own thoughts or feelings, you end up feeling shortchanged or "dumped on.“

Part I – Week1-4 Technical and Professional Communication

10

Interpersonal Communication Skills:

I-statements: help you express the way you feel and what you want with great clarity.

"You never call when you are going to be late.“

"I really need to know when you're going to be here so I can make plans."

A respectful tone of voice: conveys that you are taking others seriously and that

you also expect to be taken seriously. In addition, people with good communication

skills are assertive without being aggressive or manipulative .

Eye contact: is vital for good communication. For example, how would you feel

if the person you were talking to kept looking out the window?

Appropriate body language: encourages conversation. Nodding your head,

smiling, laughing, using words such as "uh-huh" and "yeah" and asking questions

at appropriate times assure the person that you are really listening.

Part I – Week1-4 Technical and Professional Communication

11

Clear, organized ideas: help you accurately and honestly describe your

feelings and contribute to conversations and to decisions that need to be made.

Example: Good communicators are also specific.

"I need to use the computer from 7-9 pm"

"I'll need the computer tonight."

Think about a situation, where:

You hear but you do not listen.

You see but we do not observe/read.

Class Activity:

Part I – Week1-4 Technical and Professional Communication

12

Verbal Communication

Forms of Communication:

• The written form of communication: memos, letters, reports, procedures, proposals, …).

• The oral form of communication: one-to-one talks, telephone calls, small group or committee meetings.

Most professional need both forms.

Writing clearly is on the top of the list of all skills needed.

Part I – Week1-4 Technical and Professional Communication

13

Written communication methods:

1. Memo – less formal than letter, more likely to be read, not confidential.

2. Notice boards – may never be read, good for staff-to-staff.

3. Letter to staff – private, personal, lends weight to its subject.

4. E-mail – private, less formal than letter, less likely to be kept like letter.

5. Faxes – personal, public.

6. Internal newsletter – public, not for bad news, useful for minor but necessary news.

7. ........

Part I – Week1-4 Technical and Professional Communication

14

Verbal communication methods:

1. Telephone – immediate, informal, private.

2. One-to-one meeting – confidential, more formal than phone call.

3. Departmental or inter-departmental meeting – for group interaction,

for discussion.

4. Presentation – persuasive, one-sided (control interruptions).

5. Company meeting – for very important news, everyone hears at the

same time.

6. ........

Part I – Week1-4 Technical and Professional Communication

15

Non-Verbal Communication:

Non-verbal communication makes no use of the words, sentences, grammar and

other structures that we associate with spoken and written language.

Non-verbal communication includes facial expressions, eye contact, paralanguage,

body posture and motions, and positioning within groups.

Verbal communication is organized by language; non-verbal communication is not.

The importance of non-verbal:

NVC communication support the verbal communication

The significance of non-verbal communication.

Part I – Week1-4 Technical and Professional Communication

16

Types of non-verbal communication:

Proxemics

Orientation

Eye contact or gaze

Facial expression

Gesture, especially use of hands and arms

Dress

Posture

Paralanguage

Smell

Changes in our skin pigment

Part I – Week1-4 Technical and Professional Communication

17

Proxemics: The study of how we handle the space around us, especially

in relation to other people; Human beings are territorial!

Orientation: The way in which people place themselves relative to one another

Eye contact or gaze: Important way in which we communicate our feelings

towards other people. Initial eye contact ; Staring ; Gazing – look steadily.

“we can detect the truth in people‟s eyes”

Facial expression: We face other people when we talk. Facial expression is bound to be an important indicator to other people of our attitudes, state of mind and relationships to them

Gesture, especially use of hands and arms: In sport hand gestures are

often used as a code for relaying information without opposing team being able

to decipher it. Financial market and race tracks, employ extensive use of hand

gestures for conveying information.

Part I – Week1-4 Technical and Professional Communication

18

Dress: The clothes we wear make a statement about ourselves

~ interpretation by other people.

Posture: The way in which we position our bodies;

Upright posture – people who have confident (police, army).

Paralanguage: When we speak, we make noise that aren‟t words

(„um‟ or „ah‟), we raise and lower voices, we pause, we stress some words

Smell: Animal used smell to send out signals that both attract and repel.Men/women used synthetic odours that will attract opposite sex

Changes in our skin pigment: Such as blushing when we are embarrassed

Part I – Week1-4 Technical and Professional Communication

19

Facial Expression - Activities

Part I – Week1-4 Technical and Professional Communication

20

The Link:

The importance of non-verbal: NVC communication support the verbal

communication

Most of time we use verbal & non-verbal communications simultaneously

One of the functions of NVC – as a regulator (a mechanism that helps us

to control the flow of conversation)

Which is more important (Verbal or Non Verbal)?

Part I – Week1-4 Technical and Professional Communication