Download 1. Professional communication theory

PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION-I
5 marks:
1. Professional communication theory
Professional communication draws on theories from fields as different as rhetoric and science,
psychology and philosophy, sociology and linguistics.
Much of professional communication theory is a practical blend of traditional communication theory,
technical writing, rhetorical theory, and ethics. According to Carolyn Miller inWhat's Practical about
Technical Writing? she refers to professional communication as not simply workplace activity and to
writing that concerns "human conduct in those activities that maintain the life of a community." As Nancy
Roundy Blyler discusses in her article Research as Ideology in Professional Communication researchers
seek to expand professional communication theory to include concerns with praxis and social
responsibility.
Regarding this social aspect, in "Postmodern Practice: Perspectives and Prospects," Richard C. Freed
defines professional communication as
A. discourse directed to a group, or to an individual operating as a member of the group, with the intent of
affecting the group's function, and/or B. discourse directed from a group, or from an individual operating
as a member of the group, with the intent of affecting the group's function, where group means an entity
intentionally organized and/or run by its members to perform a certain function....Primarily excluded from
this definition of group would be families (who would qualify only if, for example, their group affiliation
were a family business), school classes (which would qualify only if, for example, they had organized
themselves to perform a function outside the classroom--for example, to complain about or praise a
teacher to a school administrator), and unorganized aggregates (i.e., masses of people). Primarily
excluded from the definition of professional communication would be diary entries (discourse directed
toward the writer), personal correspondence (discourse directed to one or more readers apart from their
group affiliations), reportage or belletristic discourse (novels, poems, occasional essays--discourse
usually written by individuals and directed to multiple readers not organized as a group), most
intraclassroom communications (for example, classroom discourse composed by students for teachers)
and some technical communications (for example, instructions--for changing a tire, assembling a product,
and the like; again, discourse directed toward readers or listeners apart from their group
affiliations)....Professional communication...would seem different from discourse involving a single
individual apart from a group affiliation communicating with another such person, or a single individual
communicating with a large unorganized aggregate of individuals as suggested by the term mass
communication (Blyler and Thralls, Professional Communication: The Social Perspective
2. Professional communication journals
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"connexions • international professional communication journal".
connexions • international professional communication journal is a refereed journal published by the
Department of Communication, Liberal Arts, Social Sciences, at New Mexico Tech. The journal focuses
on communication in local, national, international, and global work and civic activity settings.
connexions provides a forum for researchers, practitioners, students and emerging scholars from
diversified backgrounds, interests, and nationalities, interested in international professional
communication.

"IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication".
The IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication is a refereed quarterly journal published since
1957 by the Professional Communication Society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
(IEEE). The readers represent engineers, technical communicators, scientists, information designers,
editors, linguists, translators, managers, business professionals and others from around the globe who
work as scholars, educators, and/or practitioners. The readers share a common interest in effective
communication in technical workplace and academic contexts.
The journal's research falls into three main categories: (1) the communication practices of technical
professionals, such as engineers and scientists, (2) the practices of professional communicators who
work in technical or business environments, and (3) research-based methods for teaching professional
communication.

"The Journal of Professional Communication".
The Journal of Professional Communication is housed in the Department of Communication Studies &
Multimedia, in the Faculty of Humanities at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.
JPC is an international journal launched to explore the intersections between public relations practice,
communication and new media theory, communications management, as well as digital arts and design.
3. Studying professional communication
The study of professional communication includes:

the study of rhetoric which serves as a theoretical basis

the study of technical writing which serves as a form of professional communication


the study of visual communication which also uses rhetoric as a theoretical basis for various
aspects of creating visuals
the study of various research methods
Other areas of study include global and cross-cultural communication, marketing and public relations,
technical editing, digital literacy, composition theory, video production, corporate communication, and
publishing. A professional communication program may cater to a very specialized interest or to several
different interests. Professional communication can also be closely tied to organizational communication.
Students who pursue graduate degrees in professional communication research communicative practice
in organized contexts (including business, academic, scientific, technical, and non-profit settings) to study
how communicative practices shape and are shaped by culture, technology, history, and theories of
communication.
Professional communication encompasses a broad collection of disciplines, embracing a diversity of
rhetorical contexts and situations. Areas of study range from everyday writing at the workplace to
historical writing pedagogy, from the implications of new media for communicative practices to the theory
and design of online learning, and from oral presentations to the production of websites.
Types of professional documents

Short reports

Proposals
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Case studies
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Lab reports
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Memos
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Progress / Interim reports
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Writing for electronic media
20 marks:
1. Determining purpose and audience
All technical communication serves a particular purpose—typically to communicate ideas and concepts to
an audience, or direct an audience in a particular task. Technical communication professionals use
various techniques to understand the audience and, when possible, test content on the target audience.
For example, if bank workers don't properly post deposits, a technical communicator would:

Review existing documentation (or lack thereof)

Interview bank workers to identify conceptual errors

Interview subject matter experts to learn the correct procedures

Author new material that describes the correct procedures

Test the new material on the bank workers
Similarly, a sales manager who wonders which of two sites is better for a new store might ask a marketing
professional to study the sites and write a report with recommendations. The marketing professional
hands the report off to a technical communicator (in this case, a technical editor or technical writer), who
edits and formats the document, and adds graphics as needed. In each of these instances, a technical
communicator transfers knowledge from someone who has it to someone who needs it. This is the basic
definition of technical communication.
Audience type affects many aspects of communication, from word selection and graphics use to style and
organization. A non-technical audience might misunderstand or not even read a document that is heavy
with jargon—while a technical audience might crave detail critical to their work. Busy audiences often
don't have time to read entire documents, so content must be organized for ease of searching—for
example by frequent headings, white space, and other cues that guide attention. Other requirements vary
according to particular audience's needs.
Technical communication in the government is particular and detailed. Depending on the segment of
government (and country), the government component must follow distinct specifications. The US Army,
for example, uses the MIL-spec (Military specification). Information changes continuously and technical
communications (technical manuals, interactive electronic technical manuals, technical bulletins, etc.)
must be updated.
The United States Department of Defense, for example uses many technical manuals, and their creation
and maintenance is a core agency responsibility. Though detail-oriented in their requirements, the DoD
has deficiencies in technical communication. The following paper discusses those deficiencies and
identifies the major contributing factors.[4]
Technical communicators must collect all information that each document requires. They may collect
information through primary (first-hand) research—or secondary research, using information from existing
work by other authors. Technical communicators must acknowledge all sources they use to produce their
work. To this end, technical communicators typically distinguish quotations, paraphrases, and summaries
when taking notes.
2. Organizing and outlining information
Before writing the initial draft, the technical communicator organizes ideas in a way that makes the
document flow well. Once each idea is organized, the writer organizes the document as a whole—
accomplishing this task in various ways:

Chronological: used for documents that involve a linear process, such as a step-by-step guide
that describs how to accomplish something
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Parts of an object: Used for documents that describe the parts of an object, such as a graphic
showing the parts of a computer (keyboard, monitor, mouse, etc.)
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Simple to complex (or vice versa): starts with easy ideas and gradually goes into complex ideas
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Specific to general: starts with many ideas, then organizes the ideas into sub-categories
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General to specific: starts with a few categories of ideas, then goes deeper
After organizing the whole document, the writer typically creates a final outline that shows the document
structure. Outlines make the writing process easier and save the author time.
Writing the first draft
After the outline is complete, the writer begins the first draft, following the outline's structure. Setting aside
blocks of an hour or more, in a place free of distractions, helps the writer maintain a flow. Most writers
prefer to wait until the draft is complete before any revising so they don't break their flow. Typically, the
writer should start with the easiest section, and write the summary only after the body is drafted.
The ABC (abstract, body, and conclusion) format can be used when writing a first draft of some document
types. The abstract describes the subject, so that the reader knows what the document covers. The body
is the majority of the document and covers topics in depth. Lastly, the conclusion section restates the
document's main topics. The ABC format can also apply to individual paragraphs—beginning with a topic
sentence that states the paragraph's topic, followed by the topic, and finally, a concluding sentence.
Revising and editing
Once the initial draft is laid out, editing and revising can be done to fine-tune the draft into a final copy.
Four tasks transform the early draft into its final form, suggested by Pfeiffer and Boogard
Adjusting and reorganizing content
In this step, the writer revises the draft to elaborate on topics that need more attention, shorten other
sections—and relocate certain paragraphs, sentences, or entire topics.
Editing for style
Good style makes writing more interesting, appealing, and readable. In general, the personal writing style
of the writer is not evident in technical writing. Modern technical writing style relies on attributes that
contribute to clarity:
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Headings, lists, graphics
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Generous white space
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Short sentences
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Present tense
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Active voice[5] (though some scientific applications still use the passive voice)
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Second and third person as required
Technical writing as a discipline usually requires that a technical writer make particular use of a style
guide. These guides may relate to a specific project, product, company or brand and in general they
ensure that technical writing is devoid of a personal style. In the United States, the Chicago Manual of
Style is the bible for general technical communication. Other style guides have their adherents,
particularly for specific industries—such as the Microsoft Style Guide in some information technology
settings.
Editing for grammar and punctuation
At this point, the writer performs a mechanical edit, checking the document for grammar, punctuation,
common word confusions, passive voice, overly long sentences
3. Models of communication
The studies on information theory by Claude Elwood Shannon, Warren Weaver and others, prompted
research on new models of communication from other scientific perspectives
like psychology and sociology. In science, a model is a structure that represents a theory.[5]
Scholars from disciplines different to mathematics and engineer began to take distance from the Shannon
and Weaver models as a 'transmissible model':
They developed a model of communication which was intended to assist in developing a mathematical theory of
communication. Shannon and Weaver's work proved valuable for communication engineers in dealing with such
issues as the capacity of various communication channels in 'bits per second'. It contributed to computer science. It
led to very useful work on redundancy in language. And in making 'information' 'measurable' it gave birth to the
mathematical study of 'information theory'
Harold Lasswell (1902–1978), a political scientist and communication theorist, was a member of
the Chicago school of sociology. In his work 'The Structure and Function of Communication in Society'
(1948) he defined the communication process as Who (says) What (to) Whom (in) What Channel (with)
What Effect. The distinct model he propounded was known as Dance Model.[7]
These first studies on communication's models promoted more researches on the topic. Wilbur Lang
Schramm (1907–1987), called by communication theorist Everett Rogers as the founder of
communication study,[8] focused his studies on the experience of the sender and receiver (listener).
Communication is possible only upon a common language between sender and receiverEverett Roger's
accounts later led to the basis for development communication studies.
In 1960, David Kenneth Berlo, a disciple of Schramm, expanded on Shannon and Weaver’s linear model
of communication and created the Sender-Message-Channel-Receiver Model of communication (SMCR
Model) exposed in his work The Process of Communication, where communication appears as a
regulated process that allows the subject to negotiate with his living environment. Communication
becomes, then, a value of power and influence (psychology of communication.
In 1963, Richard Whately's (1787-1863) 'Elements of Rhetoric' was republished with a critical introduction
by Douglas Ehninger and a foreword by David Potter. They explored what they called the 'Aristotle's
models of communication'. James L. Kinneavy (1920–1999) also explored Aristotle's rhetoric and
communication model in 'A Theory of Discourse' (1971).
conversation regarding disciplinary identity in the field of communication. that time, communication theory
textbooks had little to no agreement on how to present the field or what theories to include in their
textbooksThis article has since become the foundational framework for four different textbooks to
introduce the field of communication. this article Craig "proposes a vision for communication theory that
takes a huge step toward unifying this rather disparate field and addressing its complexities. To move
toward this unifying vision Craig focused on communication theory as a practical discipline and shows
how "various traditions of communication theory can be engaged in dialogue on the practice of
communicationIn this deliberative process theorists would engage in dialog about the "practical
implications of communication theories. In the end Craig proposes seven different traditions of
Communication Theory and outlines how each one of them would engage the others in dialogue
4. Content creation
Technical communication is a professional task performed by specialized employees or consultants. For
example, a professional writer may work with a company to produce a user manual. Some companies
give considerable technical communication responsibility to other technical professionals—such as
programmers, engineers, and scientists. Often, a professional technical writer edits such work to bring it
up to modern technical communication standards.
To begin the documentation process, technical communicators identify the audience and their information
needs. The technical communicator researches and structures the content into a framework that can
guide detailed development. As the body of information comes together, the technical communicator
ensures that the intended audience can understand the content and retrieve the information they need.
This process, known as the 'Writing Process', has been a central focus of writing theory since the 1970s,
and some contemporary textbook authors apply it to technical communication. Technical communication
is important to most professions, as a way to contain and organize information and maintain accuracy.
The technical writing process can be divided into five steps:
1. Determine purpose and audience
2. Collect information
3. Organize and outline information
4. Write the first draft
5. Revise and edit
Determining purpose and audience
All technical communication serves a particular purpose—typically to communicate ideas and concepts to
an audience, or direct an audience in a particular task. Technical communication professionals use
various techniques to understand the audience and, when possible, test content on the target audience.
For example, if bank workers don't properly post deposits, a technical communicator would:

Review existing documentation (or lack thereof)

Interview bank workers to identify conceptual errors

Interview subject matter experts to learn the correct procedures

Author new material that describes the correct procedures

Test the new material on the bank workers
Similarly, a sales manager who wonders which of two sites is better for a new store might ask a marketing
professional to study the sites and write a report with recommendations. The marketing professional
hands the report off to a technical communicator (in this case, a technical editor or technical writer), who
edits and formats the document, and adds graphics as needed. In each of these instances, a technical
communicator transfers knowledge from someone who has it to someone who needs it. This is the basic
definition of technical communication.
Audience type affects many aspects of communication, from word selection and graphics use to style and
organization. A non-technical audience might misunderstand or not even read a document that is heavy
with jargon—while a technical audience might crave detail critical to their work. Busy audiences often
don't have time to read entire documents, so content must be organized for ease of searching—for
example by frequent headings, white space, and other cues that guide attention. Other requirements vary
according to particular audience's needs.
Technical communication in the government is particular and detailed. Depending on the segment of
government (and country), the government component must follow distinct specifications. The US Army,
for example, uses the MIL-spec (Military specification). Information changes continuously and technical
communications (technical manuals, interactive electronic technical manuals, technical bulletins, etc.)
must be updated.
The United States Department of Defense, for example uses many technical manuals, and their creation
and maintenance is a core agency responsibility. Though detail-oriented in their requirements, the DoD
has deficiencies in technical communication. The following paper discusses those deficiencies and
identifies the major contributing factor