Chapter 2: The Communication Process

Learning Objectives Understand the writing process including prewriting, writing, and rewriting Prewrite to help you determine goals, consider audience, gather data, examine purposes, and determine the communication channel Use various prewriting techniques to help you get started: reporter’s questions, mind mapping, brainstorming or listing, outlining, storyboarding, creating organization charts, flowcharting, or researching

Learning Objectives (continued) Decide whether you are communicating to persuade, instruct, inform, or build trust Write a rough draft, by organizing material, considering the layout and design of the communication, and adding visual aids such as tables and figures Communicate content through e‐mail messages, instant messages, blogging, letters, memos, reports, brochures, proposals, Web sites, and Microsoft PowerPoint presentations

Learning Objectives (continued) Perfect your text by testing for usability Rewrite your document by adding, deleting, simplifying, moving, reformatting, enhancing, and correcting Proofread, an essential part of the rewriting step in the writing process

The Writing Process: An Overview To produce successful technical communication, approach writing as a process. The sometimes simultaneous stages of the process are: Prewriting: generating information, considering the needs of the audience, and choosing the communication channel Writing: organizing the draft, supplying visual aids, and formatting the content so that your readers can follow easily Rewriting: re-doing the draft so you can test for usability and perfect your document

The Writing Process Prewriting, Writing, and Rewriting:

Prewriting Prewriting allows you to plan your communication. Steps in the prewriting process are: Examining your purposes Determining your goals Considering your audience Gathering your data Determining how your content will be provided

Examine Your Purposes Are you writing due to: External motivation. Has someone else requested the correspondence? Internal motivation. Have you decided to write on your own accord?

Determine Your Goals Are you writing to: Inform. Share information objectively? Instruct. Explain what to do or how to do something? Persuade. Change opinions or policies? Build trust. Create rapport (empathy, understanding, connection, or confidence)?

Consider Your Audience Are you writing: Direction. Up to management? Down to Subordinates? Laterally to coworkers? High-tech readers. Experts in your field? Low-tech readers. People with some knowledge about your field? Lay readers. Customers or people outside of your work environment?

Gather Your Data Once you know why you are writing and who your audience is, decide what to say. Data gathering techniques include: Answering the reporter’s questions Mind mapping Brainstorming or listing Outlining Storyboarding Creating organization charts Flowcharting Researching (online or at the library)

Determine How the Content Will Be Provided After you have determined your audience, goals, and content, decide which communication channel will best convey your message: Email, instant messages, text messages, letters, and memos Reports and proposals Brochures and fliers Web sites and blogs Oral presentations Social media Videos

Writing Once you have gathered your data, determined your objectives, recognized your audience, and chosen the channel of communication, the next step is writing the document. You must consider: Organization: Space (spatial organization), Chronology, Importance, Comparison/contrast, Problem/solution Formatting: Consider how the text looks on the page or screen

Rewriting After you have prewritten (to gather data, organize your thoughts, and understand your audience) and written your draft, your final step is to rewrite for usability and correctness. Steps include: Revise: add missing detail, delete dead words and phrases, simplify unnecessarily complex words and phrases, move around information, reformat where necessary, enhance the tone and style Proofread: correct any errors to ensure accurate grammar and content.

Usability Testing Usability testing focuses on these key factors: Retrievability. Can the user find specific information quickly and easily? Readability. Can the user read and comprehend information quickly and easily? Accuracy. Is the information complete and correct? User satisfaction. Does the document present information in a way that is easy to learn and remember?

Chapter Highlights 1. Writing effectively is a challenge for many people. Following the process approach to writing will help you meet this challenge. 2. Prewriting helps you determine your goals, consider your audience, gather your data, examine your purposes, and determine the communication channel.

Chapter Highlights (continued) 3. Prewriting techniques will help you get started. Try answering reporter’s questions, mind mapping, brainstorming or listing, outlining, storyboarding, creating organization charts, flowcharting, or researching. 4. When you prewrite, decide whether you are communicating to persuade, instruct, inform, or build trust.

Chapter Highlights (continued) 5. To begin writing a rough draft, organize your material, consider the layout and design of the communication, and add visual aids such as tables and figures. 6. You can communicate content through e‐mail messages, instant messages, blogging, letters, memos, reports, brochures, proposals, Web sites, and Microsoft PowerPoint presentations. 7. Perfect your text by testing for usability.

Chapter Highlights (continued) 8. Rewrite your document by adding, deleting, simplifying, moving, reformatting, enhancing, and correcting. 9. Proofreading is an essential part of the rewriting step in the writing process. Lack of proofreading causes businesses to lose money. 10. Accuracy is an essential skill in business according to the National Commission on Writing.