NDLI: Discussing technical communication with engineers: analogies that work

Content Provider	IEEE Xplore Digital Library
Author	Doumont, J.-I.
Copyright Year	2001
Abstract	As professional technical communicators probably agree, effective communication starts with adapting to one's audience. When it comes to discussing communication issues with engineers (or to understand communication issues as an engineer), appropriate engineering analogies may therefore help get the point across. The paper introduces several such analogies, stemming from 15 years of teaching practice. Professional communication can be presented as yet another case of optimization under constraints. In support of this view, direct analogies with electrical signals suggest three fundamental principles: (1) adapt to your audience, (2) maximize the signal-to-noise ratio, and (3) use effective redundancy. Optimal communication places messages first, not last; they first state the theorem then the proof. Effective vocal delivery does not stop at adopting an appropriate DC value: it also provides meaningful AC variations around this mean. Like electrical circuits, paragraphs benefit from adopting a parallel or serial structure. Good parallelism makes lists readable in the same way it makes algebra readable. Algebra, finally, is a model of keeping it simple for better readability.
Starting Page	425
Ending Page	429
File Size	402008
Page Count	5
File Format	PDF
ISBN	0780372093
DOI	10.1109/IPCC.2001.971591
Language	English
Publisher	Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
Publisher Date	2001-10-24
Publisher Place	USA
Access Restriction	Subscribed
Rights Holder	Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
Subject Keyword	Professional communication Communication effectiveness Constraint optimization Education Algebra Signal to noise ratio Vocabulary Bridge circuits Proposals Time factors
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article

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