Communicating in the IT Industry Lecture 4: Audience Zatil Ridh'wah Hj Darot

Audience: Learning objectives Age IT Knowledge Culture or country Disability

One of the most important things to consider is your audience One of the most important things to consider is your audience. You need to adapt the style and content of what you say or write so that your communication is ____________ For example, you may need to consider the following different aspects in relation to your audience:

AGE The way you speak and the language you use will probably not be the same when talking to an adult as when talking to a friend of the same age or to a child. With young children you would need to keep your language ________, while when talking with your friends you might use ________ that an older adult would not understand.

IT knowledge The terminology you use and the amount of detail you give in a technical explanation will need to change depending on the __________of the person you are speaking to.

Culture or country People who speak English as an additional language may need you to speak in simpler English, for example with less jargon and technical terms than you might normally use.

Disability When communicating with someone with a hearing disability, for example, you may need to make sure that you _________and that your face is visible to the person all the time so they can lip read what you say.

In IT there is a large amount of technical terminology Acronyms are also widely used, such as UPS (uninterruptable power supply) and DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol). When speaking to technical people, you need to make sure they understand the specific terminology and acronyms you are using. When speaking to ____________, try and avoid technical terms and acronyms if possible. If you must use them, explain them fully. When using an acronym for the first time in writing, you should also give the full name in brackets; for example, UTP (Unshielded Twisted Pair)

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