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Definition & Goals of Communication
• History of Communication
• Communication Competence
• Basic Theories/ Models of Communication
• The Communication Process
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Technical Communication
Ms. Sharon Syriac - Lecturer

Ms. Syriac shaniac79@gmail.com
OR sharon.syriac@utt.edu.tt
Cell – 789-2348
OFFICE HOURS (SFTI)
Tuesdays 12-1pm

Overview (i) Areas of study
(ii) Assessment
(iii) Tutor’s Expectation
(No plagiarism, submission of assignments on time, typed and neat and presentable, no cell phones during classes)
2. Diagnostic
Students are to write a short piece in class on an ethical (not legal) problem encountered. This might be a situation that required their action or an ethical question

Communication is the deliberate or accidental transfer of meaning . It is the process of sending and receiving verbal and non-verbal messages to create meaning. It occurs in a context , could be distorted by noise and allows for feedback . Communication focuses on how people use messages to generate meanings within and across various contexts, cultures, channels and media.

Key factors in successful communication
1) Conceiving the message
2) Encoding the message
3) Selecting the communication channel
4) Decoding the message
5) Interpreting the message
6) Feedback

VERBAL –
NON-VERBAL – How we act
1. Written 1. Kinesics – Use of the body
2. Oral (Speech) 2. Proxemics - Use of Space
3. Haptics – Use of Touch
4. Paralanguage/ Paralinguistics – Use of voice tones
(pitch, volume, inflection, tone)
5. Oculesics – use of eyes
6. Chronemics – use of time

Verbal barriers are related to what you write or say. Some verbal barriers are:
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Inadequate knowledge of vocabulary
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Inappropriate use of expressions (tone, pitch and volume)
Differences in interpretation (age, gender, culture)
Language differences (dialect, jargon etc.)
Overabstraction and ambiguity
Polarization

Non-verbal barriers are related to how you act. Non-verbal barriers to communication are:
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Inappropriate or conflicting signals
Differences in perception
Inappropriate emotions (boredom, anger)
Distractions (noise)

1.
2.
3.
External noise (environment)
Internal noise (inside mind)
Semantic noise (emotional reaction to words)

1) Stimulus: Event that creates the need to communicate
2) Filter: The mental process of interpreting stimuli based on one’s knowledge, experience and viewpoints
3)
4)
5)
Message: The formulation of a verbal or non-verbal response to the stimulus
Medium: The form of the message.
Destination: Message enters sensory environment of receiver

1. Intrapersonal(communication with self)
2. Interpersonal/ Dyadic (1-on-1)
3. Small group
4. Public commun. (debate, presentations)
5. Organisational (memo, meetings)
6. Mass (Radio, TV, Internet)
7. Intercultural communication - Comm with people from different cultural background

ELEMENTS OF COMMUNICATION
Sender (person/team that originates the message)
• Receiver (the audience to the message)
• Message (the purpose, organization, details and language of the comminique
• Channel (the method of transmitting the message i.e. print, email, Internet document, speech, videotape etc.)
• Noise (mechanical or semantic barriers)
• Encoding/ decoding the terms, symbols, graphics and document design which the sender (encoder) chooses to carry the message and which the receiver/ audience (decoder) accepts
• Interpretation the audience’s understanding of the message
• Feedback the audience’s reaction to the message.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Identify the 3 goals of communication on
WHY people communicate.
List 5 barriers to VERBAL communication
List 5 barriers to NONVERBAL communication
Identify 5 reasons why TECHNICAL communication is important
List 10 types/ examples of technical communication

3 GENERAL COMMUNICATION GOALS
1.
Self Presentation goals (who we are and how we want to be perceived)
2.
3.
Relational Goals (how we develop, maintain and terminate relationships)
Instrumental Goals (how we manipulate others, gain compliance, manage interpersonal conflict, use and recognise interpersonal influence strategies

1)
2)
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SPEECH – 3.5 million years ago vocal noises began, vocal abilities evolved and languages started
SYMBOLS – Use of symbols to represent a concept began giving rise to:
Cave paintings/ rock art
Petro glyphs – Took 20,000 years to move from rock art to carvings into rock surface

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 c) d) a) b)
Pictograms – a symbol representing a concept, object, activity, place or event by illustration. Tells chronological story.
Ideogram – Graphical symbols that represent an idea
Writing – emerged 4000BC
Alphabet – emerged in 2000BC
Manuscripts
Printing press
Letter writing and post

f) g) a) b) c) d) e)
Alphabet – emerged in 2000BC
Manuscripts
Printing press – 1488 Johann Gutenberg
Letter writing and postman (USA, 1775)
Telegraph – sending electrostatically generated signals through a wire (1747)
Telephone – Alexander Bell (1876)
Radio – Amateur broadcasting (1914), commercial broadcasting (1920)

g) Photography – h) Television - 1939 i) Cell phone j) Internet k) Social media and blogging

Communication competence is “a situational ability to set realistic and appropriate goals and to maximise their achievement by using knowledge of self, other, context and communication theory to generate adaptive communication performance” (Friedrich 1994). It determines if and to what degree the goals of interaction are achieved.

SIX CRITERIA FOR ASSESSING
COMMUNICATION COMPETENCE
1.
Adaptability (flexibility)
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Conversational involvement
Conversational management
Empathy
Effectiveness
Appropriateness

Communication
Models
Linear 1.
2.
Interactive
Transactional
3.

1.
2.
3.
4.
Lineardepicts communication as 1-way
Interactive/ Transitionalreflects 2 way nature of communication
Transactional reflects 2 way nature of communication and its many influences
CMAPP Model
– Content, message,
Audience, Purpose and Product.

In groups, students are provided with samples of technical communication to:
1.
Identify 5 reasons why technical writing is important.
2.
3.
List 10 types/ examples of written technical communication
Identify common features/ characteristics of technical communication.

IMPORTANCE OF TECHNICAL
COMMUNICATION
Technical communication
• takes time
• costs money and
• reflects the writer’s interpersonal communication skills
It is important to success in business and technology,

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To save time
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To increase productivity
To provide options
To analyse products
To persuade an audience
To ensure safety
To provide solutions
To create awareness

Technical communication is a process of managing technical information through analysing, explaining, informing and persuading its audience to allow them to take action . It is intended to communicate to a specific audience for a specific purpose. Purpose, audience and tone are all important in technical writing.

Technical communication includes:
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Memos, emails, letters to seek action
Documents enhanced with visuals
Progress, lab and test reports
Field, incident and feasibility reports
Proposals
Manuals, flyers, newsletters, catalogues
Web sites

TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION IS:
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Interactive & Adaptable & Timely
Reader oriented– ease of selective access
Produced collaboratively
Visual – integrates visual elements
Bound ethically and politically
International and cross-cultural
Structured

KEY FEATURES OF TECHNICAL WRITING
Samples of technical writing are distributed and each group focuses on identifying the features that are characteristic of technical writing. These features are summarized under broad headings e.g.
ｷ Audience-centered
ｷ Presentational
ｷ Responsible

FEATURES/ CHARACTERISTICS
OF TECHNICAL WRITING
FEATURES
1. Audiencecentered
(Audience)
DEFINITION
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Aims to help readers so the technical communication must be precise
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Deals with specific situation and specific needs
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Enables readers to take effective action
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Occurs within a community and the community values enable effective technical writers to produce effective documents
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It is interactive
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It has definite purposes (informing, instructing, persuading)

FEATURES/ CHARACTERISTICS
OF TECHNICAL WRITING
2. Presentational
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Use top-down model, putting the main idea first
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Use headings – words and phrases that name the content of the following sections
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Use chunks – A block of text. Use a series of short blocks rather than one long block
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Use visual aids – Use graphs, tables and drawings
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Establish a consistent visual logic – Each element of format is presented the same as other similar elements
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Use plain and objective language -

FEATURES/ CHARACTERISTICS
OF TECHNICAL WRITING
3. Responsible
(Writer)
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Technical writers must fulfill readers trust and tell them WHAT they need to know and ALL they need to know
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Technical writing is an ethical endeavor and technical writers take responsibility for their writing.
Technical writers must tell the truth and ensure that the audience understands their message. To achieve this the technical writer must: i. Use language & format honestly ii. Use visuals with precision iii. Use simple direct expression of ideas iv. Credit the ideas/ work of others

A) Efficient
B)
C)
D)
E)
Easy to understand
Accessible
Action oriented
Adaptable

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Has ethical, legal and political dimensions
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Should be accurate and free of ambiguity
Is audience centered
Is produced collaboratively
Is visual
Is interactive and adaptable
Is international and cross-cultural

TOPIC – Ethics in the Technical Workplace
1.
2.
What Are Ethics-Where it Comes From
Personal Employment Ethics
3.
4.
Employer Ethics
Communication Ethics & Legal
Considerations (Copyright Law)
5.
6.
7.
Visual Ethics
Social Ethics
Conservation Ethics

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Graphic organizers
Schematics
Informal outline
Background knowledge
Technical vocabulary
Formal outline
Literary reading
Pace
Technical reading
Anticipate
Formal outline
Preview
Margin notes