Technical Communication in the Workplace Interview
In order to gather information about the types and importance of communication in organizations, set up a half-hour interview with someone in a position that is similar to the one you would like to have in three to five years.
The “Exploring Primary Sources” section in Chapter 2 of the textbook, specifically the subsection on strategies for informal interviews, should help you complete this assignment.
Then, write a summary report that highlights the most interesting aspects of the interview. Doing this will help you learn about the value and importance of effective oral and written communication skills in an organization.
Your questions should include the following:
• How important are good communication skills (e.g., reading, writing, speaking, and listening) to your professional position?
• How much time do you spend each week on technical or problem-solving activities?
• How much time do you spend writing? How much time do you spend working with materials written by others?
• How much time do you spend in oral communication activities; for example, meetings, interviews, giving assignments to others, making presentations?
• How important are intercultural communications to your professional success? What is your definition of intercultural communications?
• Do you work on projects or assignments alone or as part of a team? How are duties and responsibilities allocated in a team effort?
• Who are the various audiences for the reports or memos that you write? How much do these audiences know about what you do on a daily basis? What kinds of information do they need from your reports and memos? How will different audiences use your reports and memos?
• What types of writing do you do most frequently (e.g., email, interoffice memos, letters, forms, proposals, feasibility reports, progress reports, trip reports, formal reports, and other activities)?
• Of these, which types of writing have the biggest potential impact on your organization?
• What is the role of research in your writing? How do you obtain accurate information as the basis for your documents (e.g., conversations with co-workers, company documents, outside documents)?
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