SMB31202

ENGLISH FOR
TECHNICAL
COMMUNICATION
WEEK 1: Basics of Technical Communication
Lecturer: WAN SAFURAA WAN OSMAN

Department for Language & General Studies (JBPU)

Semester 1, 2022/2023
Before we
begin, let’s
get to know
each other.
SAF
(1) What is your name?
(2) Where are you from?
(3) What do you like to do in your free time?
(4) What is your favourite colour and why?
 1. Compulsory course for ALL Engineering and Engineering
Technology students.
COURSE 2. At the end of the course, you will be able to:
OVERVIEW - apply the fundamentals of Technical Communication;
- produce clear and well structured technical documents; &
- critically discuss and express agreement and disagreement
within a group on various related topics.
3. Assessments:
a) Quiz (30%): Individual task
b) Poster (40%): Group task
c) Poster Presentation (30%): Group task but individually
evaluated
  Will be conducted in Week 6 (online)
 Duration: 1 hour and 30 minutes
QUIZ (30%)
 Topics covered in the quiz are:
- Week 1 – Basics of Technical Communication
- Week 2 – Preparing for Workplace
- Week 3 – Gathering Information (Primary &
Secondary Sources) & Designing Questionnaire
- Week 4 – Word Formation
- Week 5 – Parallelism
 A. POSTER (40%)
- Begin in Week 6 (AFTER QUIZ) and you will be briefed and
ASSIGNMENTS guidelines will be provided.
(70%) - Submission Deadline: Week 11
- Consultation in Week 8 (show progress to instructor)
In a group of 5, you are required to design a poster which promotes and
highlights problems/ issues, recommendations and conclusions related to
one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

B. GROUP DISCUSSION (30%)

- Conducted in Week 13 and 14
- Briefing in Week 11 (Guidelines will be provided)
With the same group members, you will conduct a group discussion for a
maximum of 30 minutes (including Q&A session).
The discussion will be done in CLASS and each member will be evaluated
INDIVIDUALLY.
LEARNING A) TELEGRAM GROUP
PLATFORMS - for communication (making announcements,
discussion, etc.)
B) E-LEARNING PORTAL
- access to slides, notes, exercises, videos, etc.
- attendance (password will be given during class)
C) GOOGLE CLASSROOM
- activities (forum, discussion, quiz, etc.)
 1. REGISTRATION: Please make sure that you are registered for
my class.
REMINDERS 2. DEADLINES: Please submit your assignments on time.
3. PARTICIPATION: Please participate in both online and physical
classroom.
4. MONITORING: I will monitor your participation and progress
throughout the semester (online and physical classroom).
5. PLAGIARISM: Please be warned that I am very strict when it
comes to plagiarism.
6. ABSENCE: Please inform me before class if you are unwell or
have personal emergency.
- Warning Letters & Barring/ Withdrawal
7. PUNCTUALITY: Please be on time for both online and physical
classes.
 Wh y d o y o u t hin k i t is
“If you can a n t t o h av e t he se
import
think and skills?
speak and
write, you are
absolutely
deadly.”
(Jordan B. Peterson)
Basics of Technical
Communication
What is communication?
  The transmission and interchange of ideas, facts, feelings or
course of action.
 Give, get or share information with others
 Whether in oral or written communication, the process is
essentially the same - sharing of information.
What is  Types: 1) verbal; 2) non-verbal; 3) written; and 4) visual
communication?
  The standard method of communication that we use on a day-to-day
basis.
 Relies on words to convey a message or expresses thoughts, emotions
and sentiments
 Such as phone conversation, making an announcement, and giving a
Verbal speech
Communication  4 subcategories:
a) Intrapersonal communication
b) Interpersonal communication
c) Small group communication
d) Public communication
 Intrapersonal
• Private & restricted form of communication
• A silent conversation within self
• Juggle the roles of both sender and receiver
who process the thoughts and actions. Interpersonal
• Communication between two
individuals (one-on-one conversation)
• One individual addresses a • They swap their roles of sender and
large gathering of people receiver in order to communicate in a
• Election campaigns & public clearer manner.
speeches (sender and
several receivers who are
being addressed)

Public VERBAL
COMMUNICATION

Small Group
• When there are more than two
people involved
• Such as press conferences, board
meetings, team meetings, etc.
  A process of communication without using word or sounds
 Uses gestures, body language, facial expressions, eye contact,
clothing (appearance), tone of voice, and other cues to convey a
message
 Rarely used alone (usually we use it together when we are
communicating verbally)
Non-Verbal  E.g.: Raising your eyebrow empathically when making a point,
touching another person when you are talking to express affection,
Communication shake your finger at your child when you are angry.
  When a sender conveys a message through written words
 E.g.: Letters, personal journals, e-mails, reports, articles and
memos.
 Unlike certain forms of communication, written messages
can be edited and rectified before they are sent to the
receivers.
Written
Communication
  The message is understood or expressed with the help of visual
aids.
 E.g.: photography, sign, symbols, topography, maps, colours,
posters, movies, plays, and television shows
 Visual communication also involves the transfer of information
in the form of text, which is received through an electronic
Visual medium such as computer, phone, etc.

Communication
Let’s do an activity.

Have you ever

played the “Broken
Radio”?
 What do we need to communicate?

Flow of
Communication

Receiver Sender
(Decodes (Encodes the
the message) message)
Barriers Channel
to (means such as
communication phone call, memo,
SMS, fax & e-mail)
  Act like a sieve, they allow only a part of the message to filter
through. As a result, the desired response is not received.
 To communicate smoothly and effectively, it is important to
know how barriers cause misunderstandings and how to
minimize their negative effects.
 There are THREE TYPES of barriers:
Barriers to 1. Intrapersonal 3. Interpersonal
Communication 2. Organizational
  Individuals are unique because of differences in perceptions,
experiences, education, culture, personality, etc.
1.  Each of us interprets the same information in different ways
as our thinking varies.
Intrapersonal  Common causes that lead to intrapersonal barriers are:
Barriers a) Wrong Assumptions c) Varied Perceptions
b) Differing Backgrounds d) Wrong Inferences
 Wrong Assumptions
• Due to education, culture, language,
The sender or the receiver does not have
environment, financial status, etc.
adequate knowledge about the other’s
• Influences how we interpret messages
background or has certain false concepts,
• Lack of experience or knowledge may
which are fixed in his/her mind.
result in misinterpretation or lack of
appreciation.
It happens when a person • Essential to know the audiences’
fails to distinguish between backgrounds to anticipate potential
what actually exists and gaps in communication
what he/she has assumed to Differing
exist (fact-inference Backgrounds
confusion).
Wrong
Inferences
Intrapersonal Barriers

Varied Perceptions
Different individuals hold different
viewpoints about the same
situation.
  Occur due to the inappropriate transaction of words between two
or more people
2.  A result of the limitations in the communication skills of the
encoder and decoder, or both.
Interpersonal  May also occur due to disturbances in the channel or medium of
Barriers communication
 Common reasons for interpersonal barriers are:
- Limited vocabulary
- Incompatibility of verbal/non-verbal messages
- Emotional outburst
- Communication selectivity (pays attention only to certain parts)
- Cultural variations (due to languages)
- Poor listening skills (could be due to distractions)
- Noise in the channel
  Communication barriers also exist in organizations.
 In large organization, the flow of communication is usually downward
3. and feedback is not guaranteed.
Organizational  All organizations have communication policies which describe the
Barriers protocol to be followed. It is the structure and complexity of this
protocol that usually causes communication barriers.
 Organizational Barriers:
- Too many transfer stations (too many links distort message)
- Fear of superiors (prevents from speaking frankly)
- Use inappropriate media (e.g., confidential information is better
conveyed face-to-face)
- Information overload (causes fatigue, disinterest and boredom
and mixes important information with too many irrelevant details)
  It is communication done at the workplace. It includes both
written and oral communication.
 Oral: formal and informal presentations, group discussion, etc.
What is technical  Written: letters, memos, reports, advertising and promotional
communication? materials, guides, manuals, instructions, newsletters,
magazines, etc.
 Important element in any workplace and organization
 Specific purposes and audience
 To communicate with colleagues and superior
 Presentation at a conference/ meetings.
 Surrounding situation such as time and place,
relationship between the sender and receiver
and other factors that impact the
communication.

• Your listeners/ Content of the

readers communications
• Primary audience (e.g., message,
(the people you information, etc.)
want to reach
first)
• Secondary
CMAPP MODEL
audience (other
people you want
to reach as well)

The reason you are communicating (to Physical form of communication and
remind, to inform) and the its appearance (e.g., reports, memos,
reactions/responses you are expecting letters, posters, etc.)
from your audience
For an example…
How would you tell
your boss that you
accidentally scratched
his new Ferrari?
 1. Purpose
Personal Essay Academic Writing Technical Communication
Features of To convey personal To communicate what you To get something done
Technical observations or feelings know about the topic, in a
way that justifies a high
within an organization or
helping someone else get
Communication grade. something done.

2. Audience
Personal Essay Academic Writing Technical Communication
Readers from all walks of Lecturers requests the Specific readers. The
life. assignment and reads it writer responds to the
from beginning to the end. needs of the readers at the
workplace.
The writer expresses view, The writer writes Writer expects
shares experiences and according to the topics and understanding from
expects understanding criteria laid out by the readers and specific
from readers. lecturer. actions after reading.
 3. Organization
Personal Essay Academic Writing Technical Communication
Features of Standard use of topic Standard use of topic Use of headings to help
Technical sentence and transitional
expressions.
sentence and transitional
expressions.
readers form their
perceptions at a single
Communication Readers need to read in- Readers need to read in-
glance.
Headings draw attention
depth before the main depth before the main to the information in the
point and the organization point and the organization document and enable
become apparent. become apparent. readers to read only what
they want or need to read.

4. Style of Writing
Personal Essay Academic Writing Technical Communication
Casual, conversational and Requires depth, logic, Simple concise &
predictable. clarity, supporting straightforward (easily
evidence and grammar. understood)
Uses examples and Use of short sentences and
descriptions. predictable sentence
order.
 5. Tone
Personal Essay Academic Writing Technical Communication
Expressive, portraying Academic, formal and Objective and business-
Features of emotions such as sadness, objective. like.
Technical excitement & humor

Communication
6. Graphic Elements
Personal Essay Academic Writing Technical Communication
Rarely used. Sometimes used to explain Frequently used to help
and persuade. readers to find important
information as quickly as
possible.
 1. Organization
- All organization require up-to-date information to
Importance of operate efficiently.
communication 2. Self
- Your knowledge and ideas will be useless unless you
communicate them to others.
- Communication expertise will be critical to your career
success.
Any questions?
See you next week!
(Google Meet)