Citation preview UNIT II: LESSON 1 The Principles of Professional Communication “People use language differently depending on the social situation that they are in” ( Carol Tenny, 2013) •People shift their language depending on variety of social factors: Who are they talking to The number of people they are addressing The general social context Physical Factors • Distance between speakers or the presence of a crowd Chronological Factors • Time of the day, a certain point in a week, or a season of a year Cultural Conventions • Ex. “No comment.” CORPORATE CULTURE • “the total sum of the values, customs, traditions, and meanings that make a company unique.” -Patrick Montana & Bruce Charnov • Workplace or professional culture • The purpose of academic writing is to generate new knowledge in a particular academic branch. • Professional communication is to get something done with—or within—an organization. (Pfeiffer, 2013) • Knows more about the subject • Consists of more than just one person with different technical backgrounds. • Read memos, letters, emails, resumes, and other professional documents. • Requires depth, logic, clarity, unity, grammar, and critical thinking • “clear and simple organization of ideas in a format that meets the needs of busy readers.” (Pfeiffer, 2013) TRADITIONAL TERM-PAPER PROFESSIONAL CONVER ATIONAL STYLE STYLE • Sounds like a real STYLE • Formal person talking • Speech • Academic or technical • Short and simple words • Informal writing terms may be used • Short terms • Few or no contractions • Personal pronouns are • Simple words • First and second used • Slang expressions and; person are used • Sentences and • contractions minimally- “One” paragraphs are short • Sentences and paragraphs are long • Use of Standard English • To record important information (e.g. secretarial notes, official documentation proceedings, & etc.) • To give or ask for information from people within the company (e.g. memos, business letters, professional reports) • To persuade readers to take action (e.g. buy something, accept changes, give someone a job) • HOMOGENOUS • MEMBERS WITH DIFFERENT TECHNICAL BACKGROUND I-ATTITUDE & YOU-ATTITUDE NEGATIVE WORDING & POSITIVE WORDING BIASED & BIASED FREE I-ATTITUDE & YOU-ATTITUDE NEGATIVE WORDING & POSITIVE WORDING BIASED & BIASED FREE SET 1 Chairman Salesman Stewardess fireman Chairperson/chair Sales representative/rep/staff Flight attendant firefighter BIASED & BIASED FREE SET 2 Woman Lawyer Woman doctor Lady president Male nurse Lawyer Doctor President Nurse BIASED & BIASED FREE SET 3 Manpower Mankind Man hours manning Labor force/personnel Humankind Hours/worker hours staffing BIASED & BIASED FREE SET 4 Managers and their wives Manager and their spouses Faculty and their wives Faculty and their spouses Dear Sir: Dear Sir/Madam: • Polite language (e.g “please”, “kindly”, and “thank you”) . • Grammatically accurate and easy-to-read sentences . • Clear and direct (e.g instead of “pursuant to” use, “according to”) • Personal matters and overly friendly language should not appear • Emojis or emoticons and shortcuts Overly Personal Professional Hey, I’m not sure if you’ve heard but I’ve been having a bunch of family problems lately. My son was recently expelled, my daughter is in rehab, and to top it off, my wife hasn’t spoken to me in days! So, I really need a few days off to try to get my home situation straightened out. Please help me out by approving this request. I am writing to request a threeday leave. I have some urgent personal business to attend to and I would certainly appreciate your approving this request. Thank you very much for your consideration. Business letters “document that conveys information to a member of one organization from someone outside of that organization.” Memos “document written by a member of an organization to one or more of the some organization”
