technical communications unit 1 notesby Sehran Rubani
- 1. Technical Communication What is communication? What does it mean to communicate? • The dictionary definition is ‘to exchange (thoughts) or make known (information or feelings) by speech, writing or other means, to transmit’ •The word communication has its root in the Latin word ‘communicare’, which means to share •Communication is the sharing of information, knowledge, and thoughts. •Communication is more than just messaging or swapping information. It involves not just words but the use of all our senses. E.g. With face–to-face dialogue, our facial expression, tone, body language, ability to listen with patience, all contribute to the conveying of the message and information between two people .
- 2. Contd… ⚫ For example, the written words, whether in books and in magazines, e-mails or texts, can convey more than just the writing. It can inspire, evaluate and encourage if that is the intention of the writer. It can also confuse and exasperate if we are not careful! ⚫ Lynne Truss, in a recent book of punctuation, pointed out how easily the meaning of the written word can be altered just by rearranging the punctuations. She invites us to compare the following two sentences; ‘A women, without her man, is nothing’, and ‘A women: without her, man is nothing’!
- 3. The process of communication •The transmission and interchange of ideas, facts, feelings, or courses of action. •We give, get or share information with others during this process. Elements of communication •Communication involves at least two persons, the sender and the receiver, without which the communication can not take place. •It is not sufficient to just have the sender and the receiver; there should also be cooperation and understanding between them. They should have mutually accepted code of signals making up a common language. CODE; the language of the message e.g. English, French, Arabic, Urdu etc.
- 4. Contd.. ⚫ The text: the contents of the message. ⚫ The channel: the medium through which the message travels e.g. letter, telephone, e-mail etc. ⚫ The setting: the social and the physical setting. ⚫ (A saint with his eyes closed says that he is communicating with God. - no social communication) ⚫ (A person was lost in his thoughts with his eyes closed. When asked he said he was communicating with self. - no social communication) ⚫ NOTE: the communication is termed to be effective only when the receiver receives the message intended by the sender in the same perspective. Other wise it is miscommunication.
- 5. To understand this lets see the communication cycle.
- 6. The Communication Process ⚫ The sender encodes the message and sends it through a channel. ⚫ The channel is nothing but the language used- words, signs, objects (air or telephone wires), or combination of these. ⚫ The receiver receives the message, decodes it, and acts upon it. ⚫ The receiver responds to the sender in the form of feedback if the message received is the same as the message sent. ⚫ If the message sent is not same as the receiver message then there has been a breakdown in the communication, which may happen due to noise.
- 7. FEEDBACK ⚫ The transmission of the receiver’s response to the sender is called feedback. Feedback is essential as it is a barometer of the effective communication. ⚫ The communication cycle is complete only when sender receives the response from the receiver. Otherwise, the message needs to be resent. ⚫ Even if the response is received, it may or may not be the expected one, but once the response is received communication is said to be successful, effective and complete. ⚫ The communication is fully effective if the desired response is received by the sender of the message from the receiver.
- 8. Communication Environment ⚫ A well defined set-up, in which communication takes place, is the communication environment. E.g. a class room is a communication environment when a teacher delivers lecture to the students. Essentials of Effective Communication: ⚫ A communication environment. ⚫ Co-operation between the sender and receiver. ⚫ Selection of appropriate channel. (Oral communication: air, telephone), (written communication: documents, reports, etc), (language act as a tool which is used through these channels to exchange information). ⚫ Correct encoding and decoding of the message. ⚫ Receipt of the desired response and feedback.
- 9. Noise ⚫ Noise is defined as any unplanned interference in the communication environment, which causes hindrance in the transmission of the message. ⚫ Noise distorts interpretation or the decoding part of the communication process. Noise can be classified: ⚫ Channel noise: is any interference in the mechanics of the medium used to send a message. E.g. in oral communication: distortion due to faulty background, noise in telephone lines, or too high volume or pitch from loudspeakers. In written communication: illegible handwriting can be termed as channel noise. Channel noise develops externally. ⚫ Semantic noise: is generated internally resulting from errors in the message itself. It may be because of connotative meaning of the word allowing the meaning to be interpreted differently by the sender and the receiver. E.g. the word ‘condescend’ may be used in positive manner, implying graciousness or dignity of manner, but the receiver might interpret it in a negative manner, related to a (baseless) assumption of superiority. Other examples are ambiguous sentence structure, faulty grammar, misspellings and incorrect punctuation.
- 10. LEVELS OF COMMUNICATION Human communication takes place at various levels: ⚫ Extra-personal ⚫ Intrapersonal ⚫ Interpersonal ⚫ Organizational ⚫ Mass ⚫ Extra-personal communication: ⚫ Communication between human beings and non-human entities is extra-personal communication. E.g. when your pet dog comes to you wagging its tail as soon as you return home from work. A parrot responding to your greeting is another example. ⚫ More than any other form this, form of communication requires perfect coordination and understanding between the sender and the receiver as at least one of them transmits information or responds in sign language only.
- 11. Contd… ⚫ Intrapersonal communication: ⚫ Communication that takes place within the individual. E.g. feeling hot and turning to cooler. ⚫ This kind of communication pertains to thinking, which is the basis of information processing. Without such dialogue, you can’t proceed to the further levels of communication –interpersonal and organizational. ⚫ Self-motivation, self determination and the like take place at the intrapersonal level. ⚫ Interpersonal communication: ⚫ Communication at this level refers to the sharing of information among people. ⚫ It differs from other forms of communication in that there are few participants involved, the interactants are in close physical proximity to each other, there are many sensory channels used, and feedback is immediate. ⚫ Role of sender and receiver keep altering. ⚫ Since feedback is direct and immediate, doubts are clarified instantly. ⚫ Interpersonal communication can be formal or informal.
- 12. Contd… ⚫ FORMAL COMMUNICATION: communication done through the chain of command is known as formal communication. It involves the transmission of official message in the formal organization structure. Such communication is planned and established by the management and clearly indicates the authority relationship involved and these generally are in writing e.g. orders, decisions, instructions, etc. ⚫ INFORMAL COMMUNICATION: does not flow through the official channels of communication. It involves the spontaneous expression of reactions and ideas and is usually done orally. Hence it may carry incorrect and incomplete information. E.g. communication with family, friends, shopping etc.
- 13. Contd… ⚫ Organizational communication: ⚫ Communication in an organization takes place at different hierarchical levels. Since a large number of employees are involved in several different activities, the need to communicate becomes greater in an organization. With a proper networking system, communication in an organization is possible even without direct contact between employees. ⚫ This kind of communication is further divided into: ⚫ INTERNAL-OPERATIONAL: all communication that occurs in conducting work within an organization is classified as internal-operational. ⚫ EXTERNAL-OPERATIONAL: the work related communication that an organization does with people outside the organization is called external-operational. ⚫ PERSONAL: any communication in an organization that is not related to work or business is personal communication.
- 14. Contd… ⚫ Mass communication: ⚫ For this kind of communication we need a mediator to transmit information. There are several mass media such as journals, books, television, and newspapers which mediate such communications. ⚫ Since the message is for large audience that is heterogeneous and anonymous, the approach is impersonal. ⚫ This type of communication is more persuasive in nature than any other form of communication and requires utmost care on the part of the sender in encoding the message. ⚫ Oral communication through mass media requires some equipment, such as microphones, amplifiers, etc. and written needs print or visual media. ⚫ The characteristics of this type of communication are: ⚫ Large reach. ⚫ Impersonality. ⚫ Presence of gatekeeper (mediator: e.g. newspaper editor).
- 15. What is Technical and Professional Communication? Communication about complex, highly-detailed problems, issues, or subjects in the professional world, which helps audiences visualize and understand information so they can make informed and ethical decisions or take appropriate and safe actions ⚫ Is significant in the workplace ⚫ Is done by all workers ⚫ Is a part of everyday life ⚫ Is an activity and a process ⚫ Involves problem solving ⚫ Is vital to the success of business ⚫ Communicates highly complex information to help in a highly complex world
- 16. Contd.. ⚫ Requires careful selection of content ⚫ Requires coherent and clear delivery of information ⚫ Requires precise arrangement of information ⚫ Includes simple, everyday information and documents ⚫ Like recipes, road signs, product labels ⚫ Includes lengthier, more complex documents ⚫ Like computer manuals, detailed reports, and NASA specifications
- 17. THE IMPORTANCE OF TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION IN AN ORGANIZATION ⚫ Technical communication plays a pivotal role in an organization, whether it is a business enterprise, an industry, or an academic institution. ⚫ The success of any organization is largely recognized by the quality and the quantity of the information flowing through its personnel. ⚫ Technical communication can be divided into two parts: oral and written. Both are equally important as it cannot be specified which one of these is used more in an organization. ⚫ Some forms of oral and technical communication are summarized in table below:
- 18. Contd..
- 19. BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION WHAT IS NOISE? ⚫ Any interference in the message sent and message received leads to the production of ‘noise’. The term communication barrier, or that which inhibits or distorts the message, is an expression of the concept of noise. Noise here does not mean cacophony, but a break in the communication process. If noise occurs because of technological factors, it is a smaller problem as it can be removed by correcting the technological faults. However, if the noise is due to human error, the parties involved in the communication process needs to take corrective measures. ⚫ A barrier acts like a sieve, allowing only a part of message to filter through; as a result, the desired response is not achieved.
- 20. Classification of Barriers ⚫ Intrapersonal. ⚫ Interpersonal. ⚫ Organizational. ⚫ Intrapersonal Barrier: individuals are unique because of their own individual behaviour. This is mainly because of their differences in experience, education, value, and personality. Each of us interprets the same information in different ways as our thinking varies. Certain common causes are responsible for an individual’s inbuilt barrier. The following can lead to intrapersonal barrier: ⚫ Wrong assumptions. ⚫ Varied perception. ⚫ Differing background. ⚫ Impervious categories. ⚫ Categorical thinking.
- 21. Contd.. ⚫ Wrong Assumptions: are generally made because the sender and the receiver does not realize that back grounds, education, and experience of different people can be different. E.g. doctor tells patient to take medicine SOS creating a barrier in communication by making a wrong assumption about the knowledge of his patient. To avoid this, the communicator should try to put himself in the shoes of the listner. ⚫ Varied Perception: individuals perceive situations different ways. E.g. in case of a public argument and disagreement between two individuals, if you are a friend or relative of one of them you are likely to be biased. You may perceive your friend’s argument as correct, and hence, may not be able to appreciate his opponent’s point of view. The best way to overcome this barrier is to step back and take a wider perspective of the issue.
- 22. Contd.. ⚫ Differing Background: people vary in terms of education, culture, language, environment, age, gender, financial status etc. our background plays a role in how we interpret the message. To enhance your communication skills. It is necessary to know the background of your audience. You can accordingly construct your message. Empathy or identification with another person is the solution to this barrier. Use language understood by the receiver to avoid ambiguity. ⚫ Wrong Inferences: this happens when we fail to distinguish between the actual and what we assume to exist. Inferences supported by the facts are essential for the professionals when they analyse material, solve problems and plan procedures. ⚫ Impervious categories: in general, we react positively to information only if it is in consonance with our own views and attitudes. Conversely, when we receive information that does not conform to our personal views, habits, and attitudes, or appear unfavourable to us, we tend to react negatively or even disbelieve. Rejection, distortion, and avoidance are three common, undesirable, and negative reactions to unfavourable information. E.g. advances in technology are so rapid that some people have difficulty in adapting it and instead of taking advantages of it they start criticizing it.
- 23. Contd.. ⚫ Categorical Thinking: there are some people who have “know-it-all” attitude. Who think that they know everything about a particular subject and therefore refuse to accept any further information on that topic. The “know-it-all” attitude poses major barrier leading to failure of communication. ⚫ To sum up, good communication should: ⚫ Be non-judgmental. ⚫ Be empathetic. ⚫ Not assume anything. ⚫ Stick to the subject. ⚫ Listen and paraphrase. ⚫ Interpersonal Barrier: intrapersonal barriers stem from an individual’s attitude or habits, where as interpersonal barriers occur due to the inappropriate transaction of words between two or more people. The two categories into which this barrier can be classified are: ⚫ Inefficiency in communication skills. ⚫ Negative aspect nurturing in the climate.
- 24. Contd.. The most common reasons for interpersonal barriers are: ⚫ Limited vocabulary. ⚫ Incongruity of verbal and nonverbal message: this is when your verbal differs from your non-verbal aspects of communication. E.g. when you are appreciating someone verbally but showing opposite reaction on the face. Action speak louder than words, thus non-verbal cues provide deeper insight into the sender’s message. Physical appearance often serves as one of the most important non-verbal cues. First impression regarding people is made on the basis of physical appearance. Guidelines to improve your appearance: ⚫ Dress according to the occasion. ⚫ Wear neat and clean clothes. ⚫ Choose an appropriate hairstyle. ⚫ Wear clean and polished shoes.
- 25. Contd.. ⚫ Emotional outburst. ⚫ Communication selectivity: paying attention to only a part of the message because you are interested only in that part. ⚫ Cultural variation. ⚫ Poor listening skills. ⚫ Noise in channel. Organizational Barriers: irrespective of the size, all organizations have communication policies which describe the protocol to be followed. It is the structure and the complexity of this protocol that usually causes communication barriers. Rigid hierarchical structure usually restricts the flow of communication.
- 26. Contd.. The main organizational barriers are enumerated as below: ⚫ Too many transfer stations. ⚫ Fear of superiors. ⚫ Negative tendencies: caused due to conflict in ideas. ⚫ Use of inappropriate media: some of the media uses in organizations are graphs, charts, telephone and fax, boards, emails, presentations, teleconferencing and video conferencing. While choosing the media you should therefore keep in mind the advantages, disadvantages and the potential barriers to communication. ⚫ Before sending a message, you should consider the following factors while choosing the medium. ⚫ Time. ⚫ Cost. ⚫ Type of message. ⚫ Intended audience. ⚫ Information overload.
- 27. Contd.. TIPS FOR EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION: constant practice and rigorous implementation of these ideas will help you become excellent communicator. ⚫ Create an open communication environment. ⚫ Always keep the receiver in mind. ⚫ Avoid having too many transfer stations. ⚫ Do not communicate when you are emotionally disturbed. ⚫ Be aware of diversity in the culture, language, etc. ⚫ Use appropriate non-verbal cues. ⚫ Select the most suitable medium. ⚫ Analyse the feedback.
- 28. PROBLEM SOLVING IN WORKPLACE COMMUNICATION
- 29. Contd.. Technical communicators solve interrelated problems of an organization. The communicator as a problem solver has to solve the following problems: ⚫ THE INFORMATION PROBLEM: because different people doing different tasks have different informational needs. ⚫ THE PERSUASION PROBLEM: because people often disagree about what the information means and what action should be taken. ⚫ THE ETHICS PROBLEM: because the interests of your employer may conflict with the interests of other people involved. ⚫ THE COLLABORATION PROBLEM: because an estimated 90% of U.S workers “ spend at least part of their day in team situation”
- 30. Contd.. Solving the Information Problem: How to provide accurate and useful information? ⚫ Evaluation of different documents. ⚫ Study of previous analysis and reviews in consultation with others. ⚫ Prepare recommendation report. ⚫ Collaborate with the organization/company (for training etc). ⚫ Consensus on the conclusion reached (persuasion problem). While solving the persuasion problem the following questions might be faced: ⚫ How much explanation would be enough? ⚫ How to organize the information? ⚫ Are visuals needed?
- 31. Contd.. Solving the Persuasion Problem: How to influence people to see things my way? ⚫ Resolve the disagreements within the team first. ⚫ Produce a report of team’s consensus. ⚫ Explain pro’s and con’s. ⚫ Balance political or any other pressure. ⚫ Prepare the case for interpretation. (Interpretation: the action of explaining the meaning of something). While solving the persuasion problem the following questions might be faced: ⚫ Are other interpretations possible? ⚫ Is there a better way? ⚫ Can’t expect political or legal fallout? (Fallout: adverse results of situation or action). ⚫ You have reckon with ethical implications of the writing, with the question of “doing the right thing”.
- 32. Contd.. Solving the Ethical Problem: How to be honest and still keep my job? ⚫ Maintain standards for quality of products and safety of workers. ⚫ Report the dangers and threats. ⚫ Prepare urgent recommendation. ⚫ Speak out or remain silent.(ethics) While solving the ethical problem the following questions might be faced: ⚫ Is this fair? ⚫ Who might benefit or suffer? ⚫ What other consequences could this have? When solving various problems, you have to reckon with implications of working in a team setting: much of your writing, done at the computer, will be produced in collaboration with others (editor, managers, and graphics artists); your audience will extend beyond your own culture.
- 33. Contd.. Solving Collaboration Problem: How to connect with all these different colleagues? ⚫ Develop working relationship with people, you never met, of other cultures, you know only via e-medium. ⚫ Collaborate in every process, we rarely work alone. ⚫ Almost every document for people outside your organization will be reviewed for accuracy, appropriate, usefulness and legality before it is finally approved.
- 34. PROBLEM SOLVING REQUIRES CREATIVE AND CRITICAL THINKING CREATIVE THINKING: ⚫ We explore new ideas. ⚫ We build on information. ⚫ We devise better ways of doing things. ⚫ We test the strength of our ideas or worth of our information. CRITICAL THINKING: ⚫ Instead of accepting the idea at face value, we examine verify, analyze, weigh alternative and consider consequences- at every stage of that idea development. ⚫ We employ critical thinking to examine our evidence and our reasoning, to discover new connections and new possibilities, and to test the effectiveness and the limits of our solutions.
- 35. Contd.. We apply creative thinking throughout the four stages in writing process. STAGES IN THE WRITING PROCESS ⚫ Step1: We work with our ides and information. ⚫ Step2: We plan the document. ⚫ Step3: We draft the document. ⚫ Step4: We revise the document.
- 36. Contd.. As the arrows in figure above indicate, no one stage of the writing process is complete until all stages are complete.
- 37. Contd.. WRITING SHARPENS THINKING ⚫ Good writing is a process of thinking, writing-revising, thinking and revising, until the idea is fully developed. ⚫ E.g. an engineer can develop better perspectives and even new technical concepts while writing a report of a project. Many engineers, at the completion of a laboratory project, sense a new interpretation or see a defect in the results and go back to the laboratory for additional data, a more thorough analysis or a modified design.
- 38. HUMAN FACTORS IN COMMUNICATION FAILURE ⚫ Ineffective communication occurs when obstacles or barriers are present. These barriers are classified as physiological, physical or psychosocial. ⚫ Physiological barriers result from some kind of sensory dysfunction on the part of either the sender or the receiver. Such things as hearing impairments, speech defects, and even vision problems influence the effectiveness of communication. ⚫ Physical barriers consist of elements in the environment (such as noise) that contributes to the development of physiological barriers (such as the inability to hear).
- 39. Contd.. ⚫ Psychosocial-Barrier are usually the result of one’s inaccurate perception of self or others; the presence of some defense mechanism employed to cope with some form of threatening anxiety; or the existence of factors such as age, education, culture, language, nationality, or a multitude of other socioeconomic factors. Psychological barriers are the most difficult to identify and the most common cause of communication failure or breakdown. A person’s true feelings are often communicated more accurately through nonverbal communication than through verbal communication.
- 40. END