A Letter to my Cousin

Matt,

            I appreciate you reaching out to me for information about this topic. I hope that my response will help you better understand the basics of technical and professional communication.

 Professional communication can be broken down and defined as follows: according to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary1, professional means “exhibiting a courteous, conscientious, and generally businesslike manner in the workplace.” Communication is defined as “a process by which information is exchanged between individuals…” So, together, technical and professional communication is the process of exchanging information in a courteous, well mannered, and respectful way. You might ask, “How do we do that?” There is no simple answer to that question. In all honesty it was difficult to pick which areas are most important to discuss. After much thought I have decided on two principles that I feel are most important when considering professional communication. They are as follows: identifying your purpose, identifying your audience, and determining the most appropriate method of communication. 

            Having a purpose is essential in communication. Our audience should be the priority of our message and our purpose should be what guides our communication. Identifying a purpose is simple. We need only answer one question: “why?” Why am I writing you this letter? To inform you of what I know about professional communication. Just like that, my purpose is clear and I can go to work on my letter.

Identifying an audience is a little bit harder, but just as important. Knowing our audience will greatly influence how we communicate. For example, I speak to my parents in a different way than I would speak to my friends. I would speak to my employer in a different manner than that of my parents. We change the way we present information based on who we are talking to. Joseph Moxley, of the University of South Florida, advised that we consider four questions when identifying our audience: 1. Who is your primary audience? 2. Is there more than one audience to consider? 3. What circumstances could affect how well your message is received? 4. How much does your audience already know?2 By considering these four questions, we can be sure that our message is appropriate for our intended audience.

            The last principle I want to cover is determining the most appropriate method of communication. Types of communication are broken down into 3 different categories: written, oral, and graphic.3 Written communication can be anything from a formal essay to a simple Facebook post. Letters like this one are also considered written communication. Oral communication means your message is spoken. This could be a presentation to a committee or a simple phone call to an associate. Graphic communication, put simply, is visual communication. This can be done with graphs, charts, tables, or even photographs.

Because there are so many methods of communication, it can be hard to determine which is the most appropriate. In some cases, it may be appropriate to use more than one method. Jumping back to the beginning of my letter, it is important to remember your purpose and your audience. If my purpose is to sell a product to a company, I would most likely need a written proposal and an oral presentation that provides sufficient visual information to make the sale. If my purpose were to announce an upcoming meeting It would not me necessary to have a fully prepared presentation to announce it. A simple e-mail would suffice, and maybe an oral confirmation by phone.

There are a lot of principles of professional communication that I did not address in this letter but I hope this gives you the start you need to go and learn more on your own. It really is a fascinating subject and it will, without a doubt, help you be more successful in the professional world. Good luck on your journey to becoming a world class professional communicator!

Sincerely,

Nathan Stevens

P.S. Here are the references to the footnotes I put in the letter!

1. “Professional.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/professional.

              “Communication.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/communication.

2. Moxley, Written by Joe. “Joe Moxley.” Writing Commons, writingcommons.org/open-text/writing-processeshttps://writingcommons.org/open-text/writing-processes/think-rhetorically/712-consider-your-audience/think-rhetorically/712-consider-your-audience.

3. Hassett, James M. A Guide to Effective Communications: a Handbook for Forest Engineering Students. Syracuse: SUNY ESF, 2003.