Polishing your communication skills Donald R Woods Chemical

Polishing your communication skills Donald R. Woods Chemical Engineering Mc. Master University Hamilton, Ontario, Canada November 7, 2010 1

Formal Technical Communication Where I’m coming from. . Developed problem solving approach to Technical Writing course at U of Wisconsin Requested to give shortcourses in two industries where I worked: Distillers & British Geon Developed new course at Mc. Master University 1965 Published over a dozen books Presented over 300 workshops internationally 2

Technical Communication Def. The sharing of information using some medium on some occasion for the purpose of satisfying the needs of the audience. Why important? 1. Vital need throughout life. 2. Vital skill for professionals 3

Technical Communication Imaginative English Emotions Word imagery Understatement, play on words Stimulate imagination Inferences Mystery Suspense Functional English Observations, data No imagery No understatement, no play on words No mood No gaps for inferences No mystery, suspense Adds symbols, equations, figures 4

Technical Communication Formal communication: written reports and oral presentations Interpersonal communication Chats; convince clients; gather information from process operators; team work; respond to concerns; meetings; assertiveness; listening; text messaging; e-mail 5

Formal Technical Communication Pretest for Formal Communication: How aware you of how you communicate Rate 1. it happens automatically. I don’t know how 3. I can describe some of what I do 5. I can describe most 7. I can describe process and the quality of the product I produce How skilled are you in communicating? 1. Not skilled at all 2. Some skill 3. Average skill 5. Better than average skill 7. Very skilled TIME 5 seconds each 6

Technical Communication Outcomes: 1. Dozen key ideas about communication 2. Goal: five criteria for an effective product 3. Problem solving process of writing 4. Four stages in writing: Prewriting, revising, delivery 5. Audience analysis 6. Resume writing 7

Twelve Key Ideas 1. Communication is a system; you, the sender, and the audience do together. 2. WHAT and WHY. There is a message and a purpose 3. WHAT. If the audience fails to get the message, it’s your fault. 8

Twelve key ideas 4. HOW The medium includes words, symbols, numerals, body language, a handshake, facial expressions, shifting of the eyes, the quality of the paper, the binding, the overall appearance of the written material. 9

Twelve key ideas 5. HOW. Words only have meaning in people. Activity 2: a. A man is walking along, tears his sleeve on a rock and is dead within minutes. b. An open window, a gust of wind, water on the floor, glass on the floor, Mary is dead. 6. We think in terms of our past experience. 10

Twelve key ideas 7. WHEN. The occasion. 8. Use our problem solving skills to create effective communications. Six stage process: Engage, Define the stated problem, Explore, Plan, Do it, Look back 11

Twelve key ideas 9. A four-stage process is used for writing reports and giving a “speech”: 1. prewriting, 2. writing, 3. revising and polishing and 4. producing and presenting. Listening and responding is a four stage process: 1. sensing, 2. interpreting, 3. evaluating and 4. responding. 12

Twelve key ideas 10. New information goes into Short Term Memory, rehearsed & transferred into Long Term Memory. STM is limited to 7 ± 2 chunks. Too much, too fast new information, the chunks are lost. 11. Audience analysis is the most challenging task. - Their needs Background, what they understand More than one class: supervisor, President, colleagues? Generation: Boomer? Gen X? Gen Y? Culture? Future readers? Convincing them 13

Twelve Key ideas 12. The five criteria for the final product include: Audience: answers the audience’s questions and concerns, Content: provides sufficient evidence to justify your answer, Organization: meets the audience’s needs, Style: unambiguous, clear and interesting style for audience, Form: grammar, word usage, format and behaviour are correct by standards expected by the audience. 14

Product assessment Criteria for assessing communications 1. Apply to all forms formal communication; both speaking and writing 2. Based on research about communication 3. Three to six overall criteria 4. Based on published assessment methods 5. Has been used consistently over time with feedback for improvement 15

Product assessment 16

Product assessment Challenges 1. Audience is key But it affects content, organization & style. If not careful, count audience 4 x. Solution: Under audience assess consistency of audiences with Content, Organization & Style 17

Product assessment Challenges in assessment and feedback - Everyone is expected to know how, but rarely have they been trained Most have completely different assessment criteria Engineering & Management experience Each student report marked by Mid management from industry & faculty So what? Ran workshops for faculty & managers 18

Product assessment Challenges Feedback 5 strengths 2 areas to work on 19

Product assessment Activity 3: Audience: recruiter, handles 200 applications/day; all are Ch. E, looking for leadership, initiative, good interpersonal skills, strong problem solving, good communication. Use the Assessment form to assess the resume, 4803 TIME _______ FINISH BY _____ 20

Writing process: Prewrite Identify WHO: the audience(s) ; prioritize these if > 1 List WHAT: questions of the audience , “Why would they want to listen to my speech or read my report? ” Collect missing information, evidence or proof needed to answer the questions; Prepare any graphs, tables, equations; list the citations/references; Write out and check the Plan: inform? persuade? Organize and sort the information into packages to make writing the paper/speech easy. 21

Apply Problem solving to Prewriting: 1. Engage 2. Define 3. Explore 4. Plan 5. Do it 6. Look back Usually given a task (with some inferred audience, time, occasion and cost). The goal is to completely prepare for writing the draft. Not overwhelmed by information overload Focus on the audience’s questions to select content & organization. Attitude: this is NOT “getting the grammar right; ” This is conceptualizing the audience Attitude: no magical example report or format; Make it answer audience’s questions. Attitude: confusion is welcome; helps identify when audience might be confused. Attitude: Usually not a communication to inform. usually to persuade. Manage stress “I want to and I can!” 22

Apply Problem solving to Prewriting: 1. Engage 2. Define 3. Explore The goal: gather all information needed to answer the audience’s questions & organize it effectively Criteria: the audience understands the message & responds positively The system: you, the audience, the situation or occasion & conditions under which the communication is to occur. 4. Plan 5. Do it 6. Look back Constraints: time when delivered, time available for the speech, Question and Answer period; the conditions (media, language, length, delivery conditions) language skill of the audience for words, actions, symbols, tables, equations. culture of audience 23

Apply problem solving to Prewrite 1. Engage 2. Define 3. Explore 4. Plan 5. Do it 6. Look back Explore: identify the real problem: Audience analysis (to identify questions they have and how you might answer them) and Content identification & selection (evidence to answer the questions) and Media selection (that meets the needs of the audience and proves points well) and Occasion implications 24

Apply Problem solving to Prewriting: 1. Engage 2. Define 3. Explore 4. Plan 5. Do it 6. Look back Audience analysis. options include: - Characteristics-concerns-needs, - the Audience Checklist, - the Persistent Why, - Seven Stakeholders, - Generations -Cultural dimension. Media: words/symbols/equations/tables. List all pertinent stuff needed. 25

Prewriting: Audience analysis 1. Engage Characteristics, Concerns and Needs 2. Define 3. Explore 4. Plan 5. Do it 6. Look back 26

Prewrite: Audience analysis 1. Engage 2. Define 3. Explore 4. Plan 5. Do it 6. Look back 27

Prewriting: Audience analysis 1. Engage 2. Define 3. Explore 4. Plan 5. Do it 6. Look back Persistent Why? What’s stopping you? On the plant, the lube oil storage tank on Line A was overflowing. The operator shut off the oil to the tank, shut down Line A. Called Harry Bloggs, maintenance, to solve the problem. How it should work: - Oil level in storage tank is regulated by a float. If level drops, the float drops too. Inlet lube oil valve opens. Lube oil flows into the tank. float is a stainless steel spheroid about 2 L in volume. Now: - The float, as observed by Harry, was still attached to the inlet line but it seemed to have lost its buoyancy. Harry detached the float and shook it. He estimated he could hear about 1 L of liquid sloshing around inside the float. None came out anywhere. No leak could be detected. Problem: How might I restore buoyancy? 28

Prewriting: Audience analysis 1. Engage Persistent Why? & What’s stopping you? 2. Define 3. Explore 4. Plan 5. Do it 6. Look back 29

Prewriting: Audience analysis 1. Engage 2. Define 3. Explore 4. Plan 5. Do it 6. Look back Activity 4: 4806 On the persistent why? diagram, identify who in the company might be interested in each level of questions: - The President? - The Production or Marketing Manager? - Product supervisor or Engng supervisor or maintenance supervisor? - Shift supervisor or engineer or Harry Bloggs? 30

Prewriting: Audience analysis 1. Engage 2. Define 3. Explore Activity 5: Who wrote the e-mails or memos? 4897, 4808, 4809 4. Plan 5. Do it 6. Look back 31

Prewrite: Audience analysis 1. Engage 2. Define 3. Explore 4. Plan 5. Do it 6. Look back In your audience, who belongs in each category of the Seven stakeholders Family +++ Friends ++ Fellow travellers + Fence sitters 0 Foes Fools - Fanatics - - 32

Prewrite: Audience analysis 1. Engage 2. Define 3. Explore For those against your recommendations: Gather evidence and present arguments that overcome the misconceptions and address possible root causes of negativism. 4. Plan 5. Do it 6. Look back 33

Prewrite: Audience analysis 1. Engage 2. Define Generations: note variety, affects primarily media, outline and timing 3. Explore 4. Plan 5. Do it 6. Look back 34

Prewrite: Audience 1. Engage 2. Define 3. Explore 4. Plan Culture. Meaning & implications of words, gestures, humour differ. Sensitive if have multicultural audience. Most apparent are gestures to avoid. 5. Do it 6. Look back 35

Prewrite: Audience analysis 1. Engage 2. Define 3. Explore 4. Plan 5. Do it 6. Look back Summary: Most errors made; challenging. Must answer audiences’ questions with content, media, organization & evidence that they understand. To help us understand their background, hopes, approaches Try: Characteristics, concerns, needs mainly business structure Persistent Why? broadens context Checklist convenient summary Seven stakeholders select convincing evidence Generations attitudes, media Culture attitudes, conventions, media 36

Prewrite: content selection 1. Engage 2. Define 3. Explore 4. Plan 5. Do it Based on audience questions and persuasion elements needed: List content - That you have already - That you need to obtain (depending on the context, this might include copyright permission) 6. Look back 37

Prewrite: media selection 1. Engage 2. Define 3. Explore 4. Plan 5. Do it 6. Look back Media Based on the audience analysis (and especially stakeholder, generations and culture) list the media that might be most pertinent. Visual elements include figures, tables. (Two forms of tables: record tables that list all the data for historical purposes and are kept on file or in the Appendix from which selected data are given in integral tables included in the body of the communication to prove a point. ) 38

Prewrite: media 1. Engage Select possible media 2. Define 3. Explore 4. Plan 5. Do it 6. Look back 39

Prewrite: summary goal 1. Engage 2. Define 3. Explore 4. Plan 5. Do it 6. Look back Real goal is. . For resume Audience: engineers & HR in target company Audience’s questions: should I interview? Content: convince him/her that I have skills they need in addition to the Tech knowledge, such as communication, problem solving, team, self confidence, lifelong learn Media: written, legible, two pages max + cover letter; include DVD? Occasion: read at his/her office; job opening 40

Prewrite: Plan 1. Engage 2. Define 3. Explore 4. Plan 5. Do it 6. Look back Plan • How to obtain the missing information & validate • Estimate the time it will take & consider contingency plans. • Create the overall plan of a report to persuade (or on the rare occasion, a report to inform). • Select the format, decide on mechanism for organizing references and sources. Consider ethics and how to cite/refer to materials of others (and how to obtain copyright release as needed). 41

Prewrite: types of evidence 1. Engage 2. Define 3. Explore 4. Plan 5. Do it 6. Look back For a communication to persuade, Need evidence to support a conclusion. Evidence: - Events audience has experienced already - Logic (inductive or deductive) - Emotion (preferred by some cultures for verbal. For written, beware of “It’s obvious that. . ” “No one can deny that. . ”) - Ethos or credibility (probably most important & underestimated) 42

Prewrite: types of evidence 1. Engage Ethos, credibility 2. Define 3. Explore 4. Plan 5. Do it 6. Look back 43

Prewrite: types of evidence 1. Engage 2. Define 3. Explore 4. Plan 5. Do it 6. Look back What type of evidence? Misconceptions: If it’s logical, then they accept. Reality: usually ethos appeal based on trust & credibility Dealing with ideas. Reality: dealing with motivations & personalities Resistance to change: root causes 1. Fear of change 2. Apathy; happy with status quo 3. Personal disparagement 4. Vested interests of others 5. Not-invented-here 6. Hostility, rejection 7. Negativism 8. Overwhelmed by the enormity of the proposal. 9. Indecisiveness 10. Prejudice 44

Prewrite: Time 1. Engage 2. Define 3. Explore 4. Plan Break project into sections, with timelines, milestones & celebrations Gantt chart Contingency plans, via Potential Problem Analysis Estimate cost, budget 5. Do it 6. Look back 45

Prewrite: create outline 1. Engage Written report to persuade inform 2. Define 3. Explore 4. Plan 5. Do it 6. Look back 46

Prewrite: plan 1. Engage 2. Define 3. Explore 4. Plan 5. Do it 6. Look back Verbal Audience listening fundamentals affect plan: We think three to ten times faster than we can listen. So what? Gain attention at the beginning: challenge, a story, the main message and issues, realistic and pertinent questions (so that listeners can use their spare time to think of how you might address these). Impression in first 30 s is critical Emphasize the main idea. Only 25% of people listening to a formal talk actually grasp the main idea Attention span is about 20 minutes max. Around the 20 minutes of elapsed time, plan to include a) restatement of main theme, b) challenging question, c) a time to reflect/discuss among the audience. 47

Prewrite: Plan summary 1. Engage 2. Define 3. Explore 4. Plan • Evidence; logical, emotional, ethos. Pertinent, needed by audience, convince • Estimate the time & contingency • Overall outline to persuade vs inform. • Format, references & ethics 5. Do it 6. Look back 48

Prewrite: Do it 1. Engage 2. Define 3. Explore 4. Plan 5. Do it 6. Look back Do it • Collect and critically evaluate the information. Write for copyright release as needed. • Classify the information and add to the outline. • Add titles to the overall plan outline; check for faulty coordination and subordination. • Collect all the pertinent information for each section of the communication into easy-touse files or file folders. 49

Prewrite Do it 1. Engage 2. Define 3. Explore 4. Plan 5. Do it In your resume, show you have analyzed your experience and identified special skills such as problem solving, initiative, leadership, communication. But, need to describe succinctly where you developed the skills and how you know that you have them. What is your evidence? Lifeguard at a pool: No job, so I travelled to Europe: 6. Look back 50

Prewrite: gather evidence 1. Engage 2. Define 3. Explore 4. Plan 5. Do it Activity 6: For your resume , complete 20 forms for 20 experiences. Here is a sample form. Descriptors mean the different words that describe what you can now do 6. Look back 51

Prewrite: Outline 1. Engage 2. Define 3. Explore 4. Plan 5. Do it 6. Look back Flesh out plan to persuade. 1. Start at conclusion 2. List reasons why conclusion is valid (these become titles of sections in the main body, pointing to the conclusion) 3. Introduction with advance organizers 4. Conclusion and implications. Next: select numbering scheme and write outline sequentially. 52

Prewrite Outline 1. Engage 2. Define 3. Explore 4. Plan 5. Do it 6. Look back Usually four to nine major sections Relationship among the sections: Classification principles 1. Single criteria at any level or titles at the same level indicate topics of equal importance(if not, faulty coordination) 2. Elements must belong in that category (if not, faulty subordination) 3. No single subpoint; correct by deleting & modifying title or add more topics 4. Try to use parallel construction 53

Prewrite: outline 1. Engage 2. Define Activity 7: Critique this outline 3. Explore 4. Plan 5. Do it 6. Look back 54

Prewrite: outline 1. Engage 2. Define 3. Explore 4. Plan 5. Do it 6. Look back Activity 8: Audience: recruiter, handles 200 applications/day; all are Ch. E, looking for leadership, initiative, good interpersonal skills, strong problem solving, good communication. Possible outline for resume 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Contact info Skills Education Work Certificates Spare time References 55

Prewrite: look back 1. Engage 2. Define 3. Explore 4. Plan 5. Do it 6. Look back • Write out the fleshed out description of the audience. Does the information answer the audience’s questions? Does the organization satisfy the audiences’ needs? Is the information in clearly defined file folders that can be used easily for writing the draft? • What have you discovered about the prewriting process? How would you do it differently the next time? • What was the easiest part of doing the audience analysis? the most difficult? 56

Problem solving: write the rough draft 1. Engage 2. Define 3. Explore 4. Plan 5. Do it 6. Look back The goal: write the communication. Attitudes that affect this process are: - misconception: “you can write or you don’t. ” Target: use problem solving & clear thinking. You can do it! - misconception: confusion is bad and undesired. Target: welcome confusion, helps identify when audience confused. - misconception: focus on getting every detail and sentence correct before proceed. Target: let the ideas flow. Overediting as you go kills the flow of ideas. - misconception: spend most time writing. Target: spend most time prewriting & revising. What attitudes do you have? Manage stress: I want to and I can Monitor: have you checked the attitudes sufficiently? 57

Writing the rough draft 1. Engage The goal: write 2. Define 3. Explore Criteria: do it all without revising as you do it 4. Plan 5. Do it 6. Look back The system: you, the computer and your files with all the information you Constraints: time; don’t postpone; physical location where you write 58

Writing the rough draft 1. Engage 2. Define 3. Explore 4. Plan 5. Do it 6. Look back Explore: The real problem is to overcome your stress and misconceptional attitudes. Focus on the target behaviours: - Use a problem solving approach - Welcome confusion; that’s OK - Don’t edit or check spelling as you write. Just let it flow. - Use positive self talk 59

Writing the rough draft 1. Engage 2. Define 3. Explore 4. Plan 5. Do it 6. Look back Organize the folders with the info. Focus on the personal sense of accomplishment you’ll get from creating this communication. Have confidence you can do this: think of past times when you succeeded; you have the self determination, freedom & resources to make it happen; creating this communication is worthwhile, get support and encouragement from your support system. Post the outline. Post the milestones & celebrations. Use a location free from distractions 60

Writing the rough draft 1. Engage 2. Define 3. Explore 4. Plan 5. Do it 6. Look back Start writing the sections that are easiest for you. For visuals, graphs and tables type *******insert Table here******* Don’t agonize over the style of the visuals The Introduction is usually the most difficult part. Do it last. 61

Writing the rough draft 1. Engage 2. Define 3. Explore 4. Plan 5. Do it 6. Look back Celebrate. You’ve done it. You’ve written the whole thing. Set it aside. Reflect on what you learned about writing the rough draft. What will you do the same the next time? What, different? 62

Revising 1. Engage 2. Define 3. Explore 4. Plan 5. Do it 6. Look back Goal is to compare the draft with the audience’s questions and polish the communication. Attitude is important: Misconception: only need single draft. Target, use as many drafts as needed. I used 11 drafts for my latest book. Misconception: revising means polishing the grammar and punctuation with the focus on the sentence level. Only 1. 3% of the time would unsuccessful writers consider altering the whole message. Target: focus on macrostructure: organization, reasoning, paragraph and section level. Willing to rethink and rework the whole thing. Indeed, 20% of the time major changes made. Misconception: spend 10% of total time revising. Target, spend most of time revising. Misconception: unwilling to discard what you have written, ``I invested a lot of time writing this section. OK it really doesn`t apply but I want to include it somewhere!`` Target: discard if not pertinent. Manage stress. I want to and I can. Monitor 63

Revising 1. Engage 2. Define 3. Explore 4. Plan 5. Do it The goal: polish the rough draft Criteria: the five criteria: audience, content, organization, style and form The system: you, the computer & spell check files on the computer. Constraints: time; don’t postpone; physical location where you write 6. Look back 64

Revising: explore 1. Engage 2. Define 3. Explore Set the report aside for several days. Systematically check the five criteria. Start by imagining yourself as the audience. 4. Plan 5. Do it 6. Look back 65

Revising: explore 1. Engage 2. Define Explore the problem: create a reminder checklist based on the criteria 3. Explore 4. Plan . Here is an Example for resume 5. Do it 6. Look back 66

Revising 1. Engage 2. Define 3. Explore 4. Plan 5. Do it 6. Look back Be systematic & work in the context of the criteria. Recheck the overall outline, conclusions and evidence. Be prepared to spend time polishing the style of the visuals Gunning Fogg index might help guide the style check. Check Tools/word count. Have good resources close by for word usage, punctuation, thesaurus 67

Revising 1. Engage 2. Define Check and revise audience Content Organization and style 3. Explore 4. Plan 5. Do it 6. Look back 68

Revising format 1. Engage 2. Define 3. Explore 4. Plan 5. Do it 6. Look back Grammar OK? Spellcheck Punctuation OK. single comma, insert understood word comma , , or ( ) or - - insert phrase comma and , and or ; two complete Sn colon : list of stuff from upstream Sn single dash – list of stuff from downstream Sn Mechanics OK 69

Revising 1. Engage Look back 2. Define 3. Explore 4. Plan 5. Do it 6. Look back Did the revised communication match the audience? Content? Organization? Style? Format? 70

Delivery 1. Engage 2. Define 3. Explore 4. Plan 5. Do it 6. Look back Engage Written: Control panic as deadlines appear; I’ve planned ahead, done a PPA and I can do this Verbal: One of more stressful experiences I want to and I can 71

Delivery 1. Engage 2. Define 3. Explore 4. Plan 5. Do it 6. Look back Define the stated problem Goal: deliver completed, polished, credible report or speech System: you, the audience, your report or speech Criteria: on time, right place, right person(s) Constraints: unexpected events (mike doesn’t work, your health, power failure), expense in duplication, location defined, facilities defined (projectors, handouts, break facilities), other presenters 72

Delivery 1. Engage 2. Define 3. Explore 4. Plan 5. Do it 6. Look back Explore Written The major problem is ethos (visual credibility) and on-time. Verbal The major problem is “sharing experience” and practise, practise. Need details of the location & venue for speech 73

Delivery 1. Engage 2. Define 3. Explore 4. Plan 5. Do it 6. Look back Plan Potential Problem Analysis: what could go wrong, impact, your contingency plans. Verbal: Should I read my speech? How many visuals should I prepare? Max 1/min; usually 1/ 3 min Stressed about my accent and bad habits I have, such as saying “Ahuuuu” Forget about them. First gain confidence is saying anything, in getting the visuals to flow smoothly and in talking on your feet. 74

Delivery 1. Engage 2. Define 3. Explore 4. Plan 5. Do it 6. Look back Verbal How can I practice? Aloud in front of a mirror using visuals and timer Audience includes experts or important individuals? Attitude “sharing” your experience; not an expert telling them. Or imagine all the audience sitting in bathing suits 75

Delivery 1. Engage Verbal 2. Define When I try for eye contact I get distracted. What can I do? 3. Explore Look at a line 1 m above audience’s heads Should I say “thank you” when I’m finished? No Handling Q&A 4. Plan 5. Do it Repeat the question Greatest weakness of all the speeches you have heard? Message wasn’t clear 6. Look back ‘That was a terrible speech!’ 10% love you, 10% hate you; check the 80% feedback 76

Delivery 1. Engage Do it 2. Define 3. Explore 4. Plan You have used a problem solving approach. You are ready. Deliver 5. Do it 6. Look back 77

Delivery 1. Engage 2. Define 3. Explore Look back What did I learn from the experience? What would I do differently? What would I repeat? 4. Plan 5. Do it 6. Look back 78

Resume writing Activity 9. Critique Mary Jane’s resume 79

Technical Communication Outcomes: 1. Dozen key ideas about communication 2. Goal: five criteria for an effective product 3. Problem solving process of writing 4. Four stages in writing: Prewriting, revising, delivery 5. Audience analysis 6. Resume writing 80