COMM11003 Professional & Technical Communication Lesson 1 Introduction to communication concepts in a technical context

Who am I? Lyn Costigan Contact hours are: anytime by appointment Contact details: phone

Course Housekeeping Two assignments (Ass 1 – Week 6/Ass 2 – Week 12) Weekly exercises must be done in workshops. You are expected to read more widely than the text books. Team Debates in Week 12 for internal students.

Course Housekeeping Refer regularly to the course website. You may be grouped with ‘buddies’. You should work together to solve problems, and when approaching tutors for advice. Contact tutors if you are having difficulties with your buddies.

Course Housekeeping DO NOT PLAGIARISE We want to see your best work, not someone else’s. You will fail if you plagiarise. Be aware of correct presentation of assignments and referencing.

What is communication? Communication is a complex area, with many differing theories. Put very simply, communication is a ‘transaction’ between two or more individuals. Sender (idea) > Message (meaning) > Receiver (listen, read) > Response (feedback) We are dealing with people communicating about the technical.

What is technical communication? Deal with information in a technical context. Challenge is to adapt information to the level of their audience. Professions: Writers/editors Multimedia/web developers Usability engineers and interface designers Proposal writers

Why is it relevant? Good communication means understanding. Technology is managed in business environments. Important in an environment where: Ideas are complex Misunderstanding is potentially dangerous

Types of communication… Oral Visual Written Non-verbal Interpersonal We will cover these at an introductory level in this course.

Communication ‘products’ Written (report, paper, letter, memo) Online (web page, ) Visual (film, photograph, graph, image) Oral (speech) A product is part of the communication process as a whole.

Genre Genre is a predictable combination of content, structure, style, and relationship with audience. Defines how we tell a story. Genre in film – western, drama, thriller Genre in literature – poem, novel, play Genre in business and technical communication – technical reports, user manuals, instructions, proposals

Social Literacy Understanding of social practice (‘norms’). To be socially literate is to understand the rules of the society to which you belong. ‘What is acceptable?’ Individual motivated by desire to be accepted by a group.

Cultural literacy Based around established concepts of what is important knowledge within a group. What you should know in order to function in a cultural environment. Seen in practice by need to ‘prove yourself’ in order to be accepted. Individual is motivated by desire to be respected by a group.

Why are cultural and social literacy important? Need to have both social and cultural literacy to communicate effectively across a broad range of people. Be accepted by and be accepting of different groups. Technical communicators need to understand, not judge, their audience.

Basics of successful communication Successful communication requires: Listening Assertion Conflict resolution Collaborative problem solving Appropriate skill selection (Bolton, 1987) Also Organisation Awareness of audience Review of material

Readings Textbook: Business Communication: Building Critical Skills Module 1 – Business Communication, Management, and Success Module 2 (part) – Audience and the Communication Process p

Exercise 1 This exercise requires you to analyse a user manual using the PAIBOC principles (in your textbook). Your submission should be no longer than half a page, and should be written using full sentences. See your study guide for full details.