Chapter 17:- Engaging in Oral Communication

By Sahaj

Chapter 17 basically talks about Oral Communication. Oral presentation plays important part in professional communication. In our entire life we will be in situation where we need to give presentation in front of others. There are different types of presentation. The first one is informal presentation where you give your presentation to the people who you knew from past. The next presentation is the formal presentation where you don’t know the audience and you should prepare yourself by gathering lot of information. The next one is class presentation. In oral communication you should be well aware of the audience. All the audience has different view towards different topics, so we should manage our speech according to it.
Use of poster, note card, visuals makes it easy for the oral communication. The other important factor is how you can handle the question asked by the audience. You should be able to answer almost all the question asked by the audience. In order to be a good presenter you should be an active listener.

Chapter 19

Chapter 19 of the Burnett text is on the topic Preparing Proposals. We briefly covered this chapter at the beginning of the year to help us with our first assignment of writing a Course Proposal. Chapter 19 points out the different types of proposals, helps explain how to locate RFPs (requests for proposals), types of persuasion used in proposals and how to organize and write a proposal. Proposals can be used for several different purposes such as: solving a problem, researching a topic/subject, or trying to sell a product/service. Companies or individuals will send out a Request for Proposal when one of these tasks needs to be completed. The text outlines the type of information that decision makers are looking for when evaluating proposals. The most common is they are looking for a detailed explanation of the situation that is being looked into. Following the situation they are looking for a detailed, logical plan for a solution to the situation. It is very helpful to include the benefits of your proposed plan. Along with the plan is how you expect to approach it. For example what is needed to follow through with the plan such as a budget. An evaluation is also very important; it helps decision makers to understand that exact outcome that will arise from using your proposed plan. To me one of the most important things is your qualifications. No one wants to take advice from some random person on the street so it is essential to point out what makes you so capable of having the best idea for the situation. The book goes into depth on the importance of credibility. Also if you are a credible source then it is more likely that you will also have a logical solution.

Chapter 15: Creating Technical Descriptions

Technical descriptions describe physical characteristics and gives readers an idea of what the thing you are describing consists of. Technical descriptions can be: an entire document, an oral presentation, or visual. Technical descriptions are important because if something is not described in detail, misunderstandings may occur. When using a technical description, there are some things to consider. One is that whether or not a description will help accomplish your purpose of providing information to your listeners or readers? Another is that will the audience understand their purpose of gathering the information that they need to make a decision or complete an activity? Last, will a description help prevent future problems if the steps provided are not taken? Some items used in technical descriptions include: observation notes, training manuals, technical manuals, proposals and reports, marketing and promotional materials, and public information and education (technical and scientific). When writing a technical description, you need to think about your audience and how they would react to it, the components which are parts that are separated, the diction of the technical document so that the information is true, and the figurative language such as similes, metaphors, and anlogies to give your audience clear information. Visuals are also important in technical descriptions because your audience is able to get a clear picture of what the item you are describing looks like. When writing a technical description, be sure to label and title the visual and make reference(s) to them in your text. Be sure that your information is organized, and if necessary, in the correct order, to give the audience a good description of what you are trying to accomplish. What do you do to ensure that the technical description you have written makes sense to other readers? Do you share the information with a friend or a family member? If so, what kinds of feedback do you receive from them?

Chapter 21 ~ Preparing Instructions and Manuals

The nice thing about doing this chapter was as I was reading I was able to think back to when we had to write our instruction sheets. There were a few times where I remember thinking to myself, “I wish I would have thought of that.” In this chapter the text talks about a few key points such as your audience, your task and certain things to be aware of when writing instructions.

Starting with the audience, know them, know how to adapt to them, there could be language barriers or cultural differences. Prepare your audience for the skill, resources, and preparation that will go into completing the task. Know about your task, know the history of it, do you have the knowledge or experience necessary to complete the task. Understand the context for your task, the situation, and environment, anything that can interfere with the completion of your task. Be able to identify the constraints of completing the task, such as safety, complications, time and cost. But again it is all aimed at dealing with your audience.

A few things to remember when writing instructions is how you write it, or more specifically the attitude you write with. According to the principles of adult learning adults want to be self-directed, they want a reason, need goals, and motivation. A few other things to keep in mind are the use of visuals and any warnings or precautions that the user should be aware of. I used to think that giving out instructions was just a giving a step-by-step process. But after reading this chapter I have learned there is so much more ground that needs to be covered.

Chapter 16 - Creating Process Explanations

Process explanations provide information about the sequence of steps in any action. They are not meant to be specific directions, but give an overview of a process. Process explanations only cover a topic enough to understand it and not enough to complete a process. One thing to remember is that process explanations should still be presented in a sequential order, keeping it organized.
At work I deal with writing procedures in the form of process guides for our operators on the floor. These guides have an overview section that would follow the form of process explanations. They list in order what happens in the process, but do not get into detail about what the specific settings are or why certain steps are taken in assembling a product. They are meant to inform the operators and engineers of what is being described in great detail in the following pages. In this section of the process guides that I work with, the overview section is what I think about when I read this chapter on creating process explanations. What do you think about as you read this chapter?

Chapter 12:Visual Forms

Chapter 12 talks about the relationship of visuals and text in a document. A text is anything with which we make meaning. Books, websites, videos, even smiles and gestures can be thought of as texts. A visual gives the meaning to the text with images, or with meaningful patterns and sequences. For example, a diagram uses images, while a flow chart arranges information in meaningful sequences. Usually Visual information comes in the form of maps, diagrams, tables or charts, graphs, time lines, tree diagrams, flow charts, web diagrams, Venn diagrams etc…..
They can be printed (such as an atlas) or electronic (such as a DVD). They can be fiction (such as a movie) or nonfiction (such as a street map).
Only the combinations of the images and words generate the meaning of things more clearly and effectively. In this chapter there are several examples of the use of the combination of text and visual messages. They are everywhere: on street signs, in books, on television news and packaging. Even the buildings we inhabit and the clothes we wear convey visual messages. In the direction map, the words are needed to name the places, while the images are needed to show where those places are and the distances between them. The chapter also talks about the effect of colors in the pictures. Those with the various colors are more attractive than those with out the colors. Thus overall the chapter is basically about the combination of the visual and the text in literature.

Chapter 14 - Creating Definitions

Chapter fourteen covers the topic of definitions. Because words, phrases, or symbols have different meanings in different contexts, technical writing often requires definitions. The definitions differ from those of a dictionary in that they usually need to be more specific to be useful to the intended audience. Definitions aren’t only needed for the pure comprehension of the audience, but can be used to a marketer’s advantage as well. Figure 14.1 shows how definitions can be used to educate a customer about comparative benefits of a product. Chapter fourteen also addresses the different types of definitions such as operational and expanded definitions and how they may be used. I am constantly coming across technical definitions, and many times, across multiple contexts. Trying to define terms for the reader can be tricky, especially if they are common to me, but the guidelines and examples in chapter fourteen are very helpful in determining the correct way to go about it.