TECHNICAL COMMUNICATIO

NSDr. J.N.Jha

PrincipalMuzaffarpur Institute of Technology (MIT)

MuzaffarpurEmail: jagadanand@gmail.com

“The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary to speak”-Hans Hoffman

Communication has a vital function of conveying one’s feeling to another. Oral, typed or hand written or even silence is a way of communication

Basic principle of communication is that others should understand what is being communicated

One should realize the extent of frustration or stress of an ambiguous communication.

TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION is vital for the survival of modern society;

A drawing if not understood at the site by supervisor can lead to wrong execution of a project(no chance of any correction at a later stage)

Prescription written in shabby manner by a doctor can lead to disastrous situation for patients especially if the pharmacists start guessing the name of the medicine.

TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION General concept of technical communication Email Letter and phone calls Theses and Dissertation Visual aids for reports Presentation and power point slides Media interaction Meeting Ethical behaviour Professional societies Rules for a successful career

GENERAL CONCEPTS IN TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION

Be Brief Be clear Be correct(Both technically and communication

point of view)

TC = BC2

BE BRIEF Most essential: Hit

exactly the right length otherwise May loose interest of your reader/listener .

(if statement drags on) Often better to be too

short and entice your audience to come back to you rather than be too long and boring.

Technical writing: What is the Best Length-10 word statement

Oral Communication ( What is right duration for the situation)

15 second sound bite 2-minute fame 10 minute discourse 1 hour lecture

BE CLEAR Put yourself to the shoes of your

reader/listeners If unsure of the background of listener;

assume a lower level and gradually increase the sophistication of message

Sophistication level: Refers to the sophistication of the vocabulary, technical content and thought process

BE CORRECT (TECHNICALLY) Crucial for technical education Any statement must be based on prior

work (others/own work) – Require to quote the source and respect intellectual property.

otherwise it is necessary to acknowledge that the statement is based on intuition/ experience

BE CORRECT (COMMUNICATION POINT)

Require proper vocabulary, grammar, diction including being politically correct

Proofread is a must for any written work

Be prepared to speak slowly and exercise patience when you get an indication that you have lost (listener may not speak your language)

E- MAIL Very convenient ,time efficient and most

popular mode of written communication today

Include the distribution line (To, Cc, Bcc), the title and the body of the message

In the distribution line: make sure that you copy who truly needs to see your message

Bcc: dangerous obviously you are hiding something from someone

Email signature with your complete title and contact information including country (Important: Allows the reader who you are)

Email: Be careful regarding first name, family name and gender when sent to foreign country

First name of signature: lowercase Family name signature : capital Gender: Dear Dr. Something- gender not

obvious

GOLDEN RULE OF COMMUNICATION THROUGH EMAIL Communicate in such a way that if your

message were published on the front page of a major news paper, you would not be embarrassed

It is best not to answer unpleasant message right away (It is often disturbing to the sender when such messages remain unanswered)

LETTERS AND PHONE CALLS

Email or a phone call: that is the question!

Email can be interpreted by different ways by different people: In such situation it is best to pick up the phone

Most people appreciate being told unpleasant truths “in person” by a telephone rather than reading them in email.

Best approach is to talk on telephone followed by follow up e-mail to restate and formally memorialize the points covered in the conversation

LETTERS AND PHONE CALLS No longer very common and are used for

extraordinary and formal occasions Text of letter should be two pages or less Letters have rarely attachment unless they

are cover letters Letter head: Name of organisation and

contact information, date of letter, name, title, affiliation and address of person you are writing to.

Greeting line should be- Dear Mr./Mrs./Ms. X

THESES AND DISSERTATIONS

Thesis: Usually required for a master’s degree Dissertations: Produced by a candidate for a PhD degree Typical organisation Title: 50 to 75 characters (5 to 10 words) are best Cover page: Title, author’s name, Name of the institution, Date Dedication : To someone who is important to you Acknowledgments: You thank those who have contributed to

the work and the sponsoring organisation and any organisation who helped in some fashion

Table of contents (TOC): Start with major section and subsection titles. The more detailed the TOC, the easier the body of the paper will be to write.

Abstracts: Describe the problem, summarize the important findings of each section (in order) and briefly state the most important conclusions.

(Usually no figures, tables or photos in this part)

THESES AND DISSERTATIONS Introduction: Purpose of introduction to answer the following

questions: What, Why, How, where, by whom, and for whom. (Once these questions are answered: present a narrative outline of thesis/dissertation) Literature review:

Summarize the existing knowledgeTake time to synthesize that knowledgeGive your opinion and point out why your work was necessary or how it built on or extended previous work (research gap)

Experiments:Purpose of experiments, design of experiment, description of the mechanical and electronics parts, test procedure, data acquisition and the resultScaling law and extrapolation of results to full scale need to explain if small scale version of experiment is conductedTable listing all the experimentA number designation (e.g.T46) if there are too many parameters to report for each experiment

THESES AND DISSERTATIONS Numerical simulations:

Mesh size, boundary conditionSelection of the model and the input parametersTable summarizing the number of simulation cases and the identification of the parameters varied

Analysis of data: Use of all data accumulated to formulate a solution to the problem in a simple and useful form (Theory, Engineering judgment, logic and common sense)

Conclusions: To demonstrate your contribution to new knowledge and arranging them in a consistent, useful and simple way

THESES AND DISSERTATIONS References: Purpose of a reference is to

acknowledge the work of others(To quote a reference- As per the institution’s preferred system : Full citation information for each source so that reader can track easily )

Appendices: Bulk of the data should appear in an appendix. Front page of each appendix should explain what is in that appendix

VISUAL AIDS FOR REPORTS

Soil G DFS(%) OMC(%)

LL

(%)

PP

(%)

SL

(%)

Expansive 2.45 80 0.16 72 33 13

WRP 2.60 0 0.13 - - -

Include Figure, Table and GraphFigures with graph: Shows graphs of data with two axes labeled with name of variable, letter symbol and unit in parentheses

For more than one set of data points use different symbols

Incase of a regression line indicate the equation of line and value of coefficient of regression R2

Table: Name, symbol and unit of parametersPhotos: Sharp and high resolution

VISUAL AIDS FOR REPORTS For non-commercial purpose source of

each visual aid must be acknowledged For commercial purpose written

permission from the publisher must be mentioned along with the acknowledgement of the source

Student work is non-commercial: Good habit of acknowledging any intellectual property

People always appreciate when they are recognized and get upset when they are not

PRESENTATIONS AND POWER POINT SLIDES Helpful Checklist for successful presentation Hook up laptop with local projectors to check if it

works properly Check all your slides to make sure they are exactly

what you expect (equations are not changed, movies are working etc) Bring a pointer or find out if one is available to

borrow Signal to advance the slide if you are not doing this

your self (constant use of Next Slide is not elegant) Keep an eye on time and pace yourself (Average

time per slide is one minute; slide with only photos go faster and with sample calculation go slower)

PRESENTATIONS AND POWER POINT SLIDES Have a back up plan if something fails to work.

Develop the talent of not requiring slides to guide your thoughts.(Can you project your voice without the microphone? Can you complete the presentation without slides?)

Have a special title slide and final slide that set your desired tone and reflect your personality

Keep an eye on your audience and adjust accordingly

(Are you getting blank stare or interested look)

PRESENTATIONS AND POWER POINT SLIDES Being self conscious and no podium to lean on, one may

find himself in an open stage not knowing what to do with hands

(Good trick in this situation is to grab a pen or pointer) Some fundamental rule for Power Point Presentation Do not put too much information on the slide

(Four bullets/one graph) Graph speak well to an engineering audience. Tables are not a good way to convey an idea or a result in

power point Equations may be necessary but should be limited in

length Use of movies is entertaining and holds the audience

attention (Check them right before the presentation that they work)

MEDIA INTERACTION Forms: written press, audio press and video press and

most likely interaction will be interview Written form: Press release, letter to the editor sent to

newspaper Interview: Conducted for written press in an informal

setting (less stressful than audio or video interview) and best to avoid “off the record” note

Say only what you do not mind seeing printed (Always) Video press: Recorded interview (may be edited)or a

live interview (Ask the reporter about the line of questioning and typical question)

Possibility of editing gives some level of confidence against mistake but one should not behave differently (video editing is very time consuming and not as easy as text editing)

MEDIA INTERACTION Live interview: an exercise in fast thinking and right

thinking. 15 second sound bite dominates the TV market Speak your mind: but do not say anything that one

is not very sure of. For any uncomfortable question: Find a way to

answer by talking about what you really wish to talk about

To minimize errors in answer: Give yourself time to think (a look in the distance or at the ceiling) and then start with the obvious while formulating rest of answer in mind.

MEETING Important rules for efficient meeting Do not interrupt anyone Be brief Be professional in your attitude towards

your colleagues Interrupting people when they speak is rude Important to remain calm under fire and

concentrate on facts, data, logic, analysis and reasoning to win your arguments rather than shouting or attacking someone personally

MEETING In many situation, it is important to have the

courage to change the things you can change and accept those that you cannot change (have the wisdom to know the difference)

As a participant in a meeting, speak up only when you really have something important to say or something that will advance the process

If presiding the meeting, keep in mind the time allotted for each item on the agenda and help the group stay focused on the topic

As a leader of the meeting start by establishing some initial rules about the distraction (cell phone use, side charts, answering email)

MEETING During meeting motion and votes are very

valuable because the decision becomes extremely clear.

A motion is proposed by someone The motion is seconded by a second

person. If not seconded, the motion dies Once the motion is seconded, discussion

follows When the discussion is over, the person

presiding calls for the vote depending on the rules of the organisation

A need for action taken item: who will do what to implement the decision and should be included in the recorded minutes of meeting.

ETHICAL BEHAVIOUR 9 billion people of the planet think

differently and yet everyone thinks that they are right, still there are reasonable guidelines governing ethical behaviour

An engineer should remember the following

As engineer we must uphold the safety of general public as the highest priority within reasonable economic constraint

If unsure about something get the advice from the people who have a proven record

ETHICAL BEHAVIOUR If at all possible, do not rush the decision In the process of deciding, reverse the

roles; treat people the way you would like to be treated

If the outcome is unpleasant, DO NOT QUIT: keep fighting for what you think is right until it becomes right or you run out of energy.

PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES Two families: Blood family and Professional

family (Professional society) Activities in professional society : one will participate in the work of technical

committees contribute to final professional decision to

be followed by professional engineers And generally strengthen and advance the

practice of engineering As volunteer after interaction with the peer,

one can learn and improve technical communication skill

TEN RULES FOR SUCCESSFUL CAREER Pursue your dreams with vision and

perseverance Surround yourself with smart people and

positive role model Communication is the best way to solve

problem Treat others as you wish to be treated

and you will lead by example Be firm in your decisions but always be

fair and polite

Look for solutions and not who is to blame Make lot of friends. Nurture your public

relations Work hard but balance your interests

(Fun, family, sports, art, world news) Be curious. The discovery process is a

fountain of youth Choose the relentless pursuit of

excellence as a way of lifeLet us communicate in a clear and decisive manner

ACKNOWLEDGMENTThe author wishes to acknowledge the

various sources with thanks that have been used for the presentation of the material

Thanks for your attention! Any question…..