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TRECHNICAL COMMUNICATION (BHU-2101/2201)

Module I

Fundamentals of Communication

Definition: Two-way process of reaching mutual understanding, in which participants not only
exchange (encode-decode) information, news, ideas and feelings but also create and share
meaning. In general, communication is a means of connecting people or places. In business, it is
a key function of management--an organization cannot operate without communication between
levels, departments and employees.

Nature: The nature of communication is the exchange of information between two people. It is
required that there be both a sender and a receiver for communication to take place.
Communication is reciprocal. So at any time the sender is sending a message the receiver is also

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sending messages.
Effective communication entails the sender encoding a message and transmitting it to the
receiver where the receiver successfully decodes the message.
Following are the natures of communication
1. It is dynamic: this is because it is not static. also it is ongoing.
2. It is behavioral interaction
3. It is receiver's phenomenon
4. It elicits responses
5. It is complex
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Origin: "Communication" is a word with a rich history. From the Latin communicare, meaning
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to impart, share, or make common, it entered the English language in the fourteenth and fifteenth
centuries. The key root is mun- (not uni-), related to such words as "munificent," "community,"
"meaning," and Gemeinschaft. The Latin munus has to do with gifts or duties offered publicly--
including gladitorial shows, tributes, and rites to honor the dead. In Latin, communicatio did not
signify the general arts of human connection via symbols, nor did it suggest the hope for some
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kind of mutual recognition. Its sense was not in the least mentalistic: communicatio generally
involved tangibles."
Scope:
1. Audience scope: First and foremost, it is essential for the communicator to clearly
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identify the target audience of the communication. This will allow the recipient to decide
"Is this communication intended for me?" It will also allow the communicator to tailor
the communication (especially the language used) to the particular needs of the audience.

2. Subject scope: In order to allow readers to further ascertain whether a communication

contains information that they need to know, or that they may be looking for, a
communication should always clearly identify the subject scope of the communication.
The subject scope is a specification of the information covered by the communication.
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Features:
Communication is neither transmission of message nor message itself. It is the mutual exchange
of understanding, originating with the receiver. Communication needs to be effective.
Communication involves constant flow of information. Feedback is integral part of
communication. Organizations these days are verily large. It involves number of people. There
are various levels of hierarchy in an organization. Greater the number of levels, the more
difficult is the job of managing the organization. Communication here plays a very important
role in process of directing and controlling the people in the organization. Immediate feedback
can be obtained and misunderstandings if any can be avoided. There should be effective
communication between superiors and subordinated in an organization, between organization
and society at large. It is essential for success and growth of an organization. Communication
gaps should not occur in any organization.

Communication is goal oriented. The rules, regulations and policies of a company have to be

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communicated to people within and outside the organization. Communication is regulated by
certain rules and norms. In early times, communication was limited to paper-work, telephone
calls etc. But now with advent of technology, we have cell phones, video conferencing, emails,
and satellite communication to support communication. Effective communication helps in
building goodwill of an organization.

Communication can be of two types: HA

1. Oral Communication - An oral communication can be formal or informal. Generally
business communication is a formal means of communication, like : meetings,
interviews, group discussion, speeches etc. An example of Informal business
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communication would be - Grapevine.
2. Written Communication - Written means of business communication includes - agenda,
reports, manuals etc.

Communication Process
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Communication is a process of exchanging verbal and non verbal messages. It is a continuous

process. Pre-requisite of communication is a message. This message must be conveyed through
some medium to the recipient. It is essential that this message must be understood by the
recipient in same terms as intended by the sender. He must respond within a time frame. Thus,
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communication is a two way process and is incomplete without a feedback from the recipient to
the sender on how well the message is understood by him.

Communication Process
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The main components of communication process are as follows:

1. Context - Communication is affected by the context in which it takes place. This context
may be physical, social, chronological or cultural. Every communication proceeds with
context. The sender chooses the message to communicate within a context.
2. Sender / Encoder - Sender / Encoder is a person who sends the message. A sender
makes use of symbols (words or graphic or visual aids) to convey the message and
produce the required response. For instance - a training manager conducting training for
new batch of employees. Sender may be an individual or a group or an organization. The
views, background, approach, skills, competencies, and knowledge of the sender have a
great impact on the message. The verbal and non verbal symbols chosen are essential in
ascertaining interpretation of the message by the recipient in the same terms as intended

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by the sender.
3. Message - Message is a key idea that the sender wants to communicate. It is a sign that
elicits the response of recipient. Communication process begins with deciding about the
message to be conveyed. It must be ensured that the main objective of the message is
clear.
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4. Medium - Medium is a means used to exchange / transmit the message. The sender must
choose an appropriate medium for transmitting the message else the message might not
be conveyed to the desired recipients. The choice of appropriate medium of
communication is essential for making the message effective and correctly interpreted by
the recipient. This choice of communication medium varies depending upon the features
of communication. For instance - Written medium is chosen when a message has to be
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conveyed to a small group of people, while an oral medium is chosen when spontaneous
feedback is required from the recipient as misunderstandings are cleared then and there.
5. Recipient / Decoder - Recipient / Decoder is a person for whom the message is intended
/ aimed / targeted. The degree to which the decoder understands the message is dependent
upon various factors such as knowledge of recipient, their responsiveness to the message,
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and the reliance of encoder on decoder.

6. Feedback - Feedback is the main component of communication process as it permits the
sender to analyze the efficacy of the message. It helps the sender in confirming the
correct interpretation of message by the decoder. Feedback may be verbal (through
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words) or non-verbal (in form of smiles, sighs, etc.). It may take written form also in
form of memos, reports, etc.

TYPES OF COMMUNICATION

1. Intra-personal Communication- This implies individual reflection, contemplation and

meditation. One example of this is transcendental meditation. According to the experts
this type of communication encompasses communicating with the divine and with spirits
in the form of prayers and rites and rituals.
2. Interpersonal Communication- This is direct, face-to-face communication that occurs
between two persons. It is essentially a dialogue or a conversation between two or more
people. It is personal, direct, as well as intimate and permits maximum interaction
through words and gestures.
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3. Group Communication- Group communication involves a group of persons in numbers

of three to approximately ten people. When more people are involved, there is less
opportunity for each individual to contribute to the discussion. There is also a greater
need for one or more members of the group to control or direct the conversation.
Communication may also occur in small groups, such as families, clubs, work groups,
friendship groups, or religious groups.
4. Mass Communication- Mass communication requires electronic technology in which a
few persons may communicate to many people at one time through public address
systems, radio, television, or computers. The number of people involved can reach into
the millions, but individuals have little or no opportunity to contribute to the messages
being sent over the electronic media. This communication is usually one-sided, so
feedback from the receivers is delayed, if it can be sent at all. Mass communication as it
relates to television and radio usually attracts an audience on common grounds.
5. Grapevine Communication- Grapevine is purely informal. By saying grapevine is

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informal, I want to say that the process of communication in grapevine does not follow

any pattern or rules. No stress on grammar or structure of sentence etc.

A. Grapevine as single stranded: This is the basic network. Also this pattern exists in

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other network too, but in a complex way. In the single stranded grapevine, message

passes from one person to another in a linear way. The message is originated by a sender

and gets transmitted to the receiver. In the next step, this receiver becomes the sender and
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the chain continues.

B. Gossip pattern of grapevine: In this network, there is mainly a single sender. Only

one person passes the information to all the colleagues. This is common in case the
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sender is a leader or a much respected person.

C. Probability network of grapevine: In probability network, things are random. One

person tells other in random there is no pattern of transmission of message. It's just a
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probability if a person receives the message.

D. Cluster Network: the most common network of grapevine. This is the most

common and popular network of grapevine. In this, people tell about the message to a

selected group of people only.

6. Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication- All forms of communication can be

categorized as either verbal or nonverbal. In turn, both verbal and nonverbal
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communication can be subdivided into either vocal or non-vocal. Much of the

communication that takes place between people is verbal; that is, it is based on language.

Verbal communication of the vocal category includes spoken language. Non-vocal verbal
communication involves written communication as well as communication that is
transmitted through transmitted through sign language, finger spelling, Braille, or other
similar alternatives to verbal language. Communication has been called the transfer of
meaning from one mind to another.

While verbal communication is much studied and is the focus of much applied attention
in areas ranging from journalism to governance to entertainment, the fact is that human
beings communicate more through nonverbal means. Some estimates are that so-called
body language accounts for 65, 70, even 90 percent of human communication. Using the
70 percent figure for body language, the voice accounts for another 20 percent or so, and
specific words only about 10 percent. Research conclusions may vary a bit, but the

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consensus is clear: Nonverbal communication is hugely important in human interaction.

Nonverbal communication also is bound to culture. In particular, there are differences

among cultures and nationalities about the relative value of speech versus silence, the
relative value of talk versus action, the social role of small talk or gossip, and the role of
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animation, rhyme and exaggeration in speech. Because of these differences, the study of
verbal and nonverbal communication always must be done within a social or cultural
context.

7. Formal and Informal Communication-

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Formal Communication

 Communication takes place through the formal channels of the organization

structure along the lines of authority established by the management.

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Such communications are generally in writing and may take any of the forms;
policy; manuals: procedures and rule books; memoranda; official meetings;
reports, etc.

The advantages of formal communication are:

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 They help in the fixation of responsibility and

 Maintaining of the authority relationship in an organization.

The disadvantages of formal communication are:

 Generally time consuming, cumbersome and

 Leads to a good deal of distortion at times

Informal Communication
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 Communication arising out of al those channels of communication that fall

outside the formal channels is known as informal communication.
 Built around the social relationships of members of the organization.
 Informal communication does not flow lines of authority as is the case of formal
communication.
 It arises due to the personal needs of the members of n organization.
 At times, in informal communication, it is difficult to fix responsibility about
accuracy of information. Such communication is usually oral and may be covered
even by simple glance, gesture or smile or silence.

8. Internal-Operational & External Operational Communication

All the communication that occurs in conducting work within a business is classified as
internal operational comm. e.g. includes orders and instructions, oral exchange.

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The work related communicating that a business does with people and groups outside the
business is external operational communication. This is the business's communication
with its public’s suppliers, service companies, customers, government agencies, the
general public, and others.

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External operational communication includes all of the business's efforts at direct
selling: salespeople's "spiels," descriptive brochures, telephone callbacks, follow up
service calls, and the like. It also includes the advertising the business does to retain and
generate new customers. Radio and television message, newspaper and magazine
advertising, website advertising, product placement, and point of purchase display
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material obviously play a role in the business does to improve its public relations,
whether through planned publicity of formal and informal contacts between company
representatives and the outside world In fact, every act of communication with an
external audience can be regarded as public relations message, conveying a certain image
of the company. For this reason, all such acts should be undertaken with careful attention
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to both content and tone.

LANGUAGE AS A TOOL OF COMMUNICATION

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Language is created by people. It does not exist in isolation or outside the minds of people. It is
created by people as they need it. Humans attach meaning to words as they need to and modify
these meanings according to changing needs.

Being able to express yourself intelligently and with fluency is an important foundation upon
which a meaningful life is based on.

Fluency is often taken for granted by people who have never taken on the formidable endeavor
of learning a second language. Anybody who has tackled this challenge head on knows just how
difficult and downright frustrating it can be to try to internalize the intricacies of a non-mother
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tongue and surely appreciates the ability to navigate freely within the confines of their own
native language.

When a human being is born, his or her environment commences a process of equipping this
person with the tools of speech, i.e. vocabulary, grammar and syntax in a most effective, albeit
unconscious manner. This process is most intensive and effective in the first decade of one's life;
it becomes more complex as we get older. Mother Nature uses this incredible natural and
intuitive system to empower a young child and provide him or her with the necessary
instruments of communication and self expression that enable people to survive and thrive.
Assuming it is possible to imitate this amazing mechanism and consciously acquire linguistic
mastery; self empowerment through language learning could be equated to a cognitive rebirth. ·

In practical terms, each new language a person attains proficiency in, broadens his or her social,
economic and cultural horizons in quite a profound way. But learning a new language does more

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than that; it actually transforms you and exponentially strengthens your grasp on life and all its
wonders. The reason for this is that each language presents humanity with a unique perspective,
a cultural and social genetic code of sorts, which are accessible only to those who speak it.
Hence, the more languages one speaks the more keys he or she has to the many wonders of
human existence and this in itself is most enlightening and empowering.

1-Artificial:



It’s a man made system.
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Man modifies meanings of words as per the need.
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E.g. ‘nice’-means good

Its Latin root ‘nescire’ means to be ignorant

And in 13th century it meant stupid, foolish

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2-Resticted:

 When we think and translate our thoughts into language, some meaning is lost in
process.
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E.g.-my school

3-Abstract:

 It represents a generalized idea.

E.g.-dress, table

4-Arbitrary:

 No direct relationship between word and the object it represents.

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E.g.-table can be called anything

5-Creative:

 Generates many words in many meanings.

E.g.-mouse, virus, edutainment

6-Repititive:

 It improves or reduces effectiveness of communication.

E.g.-A couple of girls are riding their bicycles.

All of you meet together to see me in the afternoon at 3 p.m.

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7-Recursive:

 No limit of any potential length of a sentence.

 Generates any number of additional parts in a sentence.

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He borrowed a pen from me…which was not mine….and was given to me by someone
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FLOW OF COMMUNICATION

In an organization, communication flows in 4 main directions-

1. Downward
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2. Upward
3. Lateral
4. Diagonal
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1. Downward Flow of Communication: Communication that flows from a higher level in

an organization to a lower level is a downward communication. In other words,
communication from superiors to subordinates in a chain of command is a downward
communication. This communication flow is used by the managers to transmit work-
related information to the employees at lower levels. Employees require this information
for performing their jobs and for meeting the expectations of their managers. Downward
communication is used by the managers for the following purposes -

Providing feedback on employees performance

Giving job instructions
Providing a complete understanding of the employees job as well as to
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communicate them how their job is related to other jobs in the organization.
Communicating the organizations mission and vision to the employees.
Highlighting the areas of attention.
Organizational publications, circulars, letter to employees, group meetings etc are all
examples of downward communication. In order to have effective and error-free
downward communication, managers must:

 Specify communication objective

 Ensure that the message is accurate, specific and unambiguous.
 Utilize the best communication technique to convey the message to the receiver
in right form
2. Upward Flow of Communication: Communication that flows to a higher level in an

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organization is called upward communication. It provides feedback on how well the
organization is functioning. The subordinates use upward communication to convey their
problems and performances to their superiors.

The subordinates also use upward communication to tell how well they have understood
the downward communication. It can also be used by the employees to share their views
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and ideas and to participate in the decision-making process.

Upward communication leads to a more committed and loyal workforce in an

organization because the employees are given a chance to raise and speak dissatisfaction
issues to the higher levels. The managers get to know about the employees feelings
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towards their jobs, peers, supervisor and organization in general. Managers can thus
accordingly take actions for improving things.

Grievance Redressal System, Complaint and Suggestion Box, Job Satisfaction surveys
etc all help in improving upward communication. Other examples of Upward
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Communication are -performance reports made by low level management for reviewing
by higher level management, employee attitude surveys, letters from employees,
employee-manager discussions etc.

3. Lateral / Horizontal Communication: Communication that takes place at same levels

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of hierarchy in an organization is called lateral communication, i.e., communication

between peers, between managers at same levels or between any horizontally equivalent
organizational member. The advantages of horizontal communication are as follows:

It is time saving.
It facilitates co-ordination of the task.
It facilitates co-operation among team members.
It provides emotional and social assistance to the organizational members.
It helps in solving various organizational problems.
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It is a means of information sharing

It can also be used for resolving conflicts of a department with other department or
conflicts within a department.

4. Diagonal Communication: Communication that takes place between a manager and

employees of other workgroups is called diagonal communication. It generally does not
appear on organizational chart. For instance - To design a training module a training
manager interacts with Operation personnel to enquire about the way they perform their
task.

TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION

Definition: Technical communication is the process of reporting information about a technical

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subject regardless of it being in a written or an oral form. Its goal is to provide the reader or
listener with instructions on how to implement a specific task such as installing, configuring and
then using and customizing a product. Communicators in this field cover technical or specialized
topics.

Oral & Written communication:

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Most people intuitively understand that there are differences between oral and written language.
It is important to realize that speech is genuinely different from written prose, and one should not
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use the logic of oral language in formal academic writing.

In more formal writing, choosing the “right words” depends partly on whether they are
appropriate for the writing situation, and whether they express an exact meaning.
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As a rule of thumb, the audience will remember about one-half of what was said. Written
language is saved for posterity with the assumption that 100% of it will be read, understood, and
remembered.

WRITTEN COMMUNICATION ORAL COMMUNICATION

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 Precise and direct.  A dynamic transfer of information.

 Chosen with greater deliberation and  Everyday spoken language, including
thought. some cultural expressions, such as “go
 More sophisticated, and developed. crazy.”
 Less personal.  Able to engage the audience
 Driven by logic, organization, and psychologically and to use complex
explicitness forms of non-verbal communication.
 Achieved through sentence length,  Retractable (one can apologize for a
complex language style. mistake or offer clarification)
 Validated by author’s credibility.  Highly subjective
 Objective.  Spontaneous
 Non-retractable (it’s forever… and so  Dependent upon orientation signals (for
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are mistakes and flaws). example, “Well, in the first place”), and
 Planned and deliberate. projection terms (for example, “It seems
to me”) to soften the tone
 Conversational and indirect

DISTINCTION BETWEEN TECHNICAL & GENERAL WRITING:

General

 Contains a general message

 Informal in style and approach

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 No set pattern
 Mostly oral
 Not always for a specific audience
 No use of technical terms or graphics


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Technical:

Contains a technical message

Mostly formal in style and approach
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 Follows a set pattern
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 Both oral and written
 Always for a specific audience
 Frequently involves jargons, graphics etc.
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Importance of Technical Communication for Technocrats & Professionals:

Technical communication is essential in an organization, because it serves as a medium to share

the information. People who are working in a company should have a mutual understanding
which can be attained by sharing their knowledge. This technical communication turns to be
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effective when researches are made and they are conveyed to each other. Students of today are
given practice to apply the basic science and mathematics principles notably. They are being
trained well in the theoretical and practically oriented aspects. Where goes the technical
application?
Technical communication is very significant for the practical application of sciences, for learning
the mechanics in technology, for the promotion of technological research and for training the
technical professionals. As the world is now confronting serious quandary due to the vibrant
knowledge of technology, these kind of unrecognized jobs are being explored.
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BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION

1. Psychological barriers:

There is one more barrier to effective communication: psychological which comes out of
attitudes, emotions, status, source of communication, inattentiveness, poor retention, unsolicited
communication, etc. People attend to stimuli in the environment in very different ways. We have
shortcuts that we use to organize data. Invariably, these shortcuts introduce some biases into
communication. Some of these shortcuts include stereotyping, projection, and self-fulfilling
prophecies. Of these, however, stereotyping is more common. Similarly, our perception or
preconceived notions on certain things also affect our understanding.

Communication fails if there are hasty judgments, refusal to listen to a problem, distraction,
acceptance of words literally, fear of criticism, day dreaming, impatience, interruptions,

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preconceived notions, switching off, etc.

1. Physical barriers:

Physical barriers refer to a large number of physical factors ranging from noise and bodily
movements to ill health of either or both the participants, confusion and discomfort. Even the
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slightest of the undesirable sound such as that arising out of dragging a table or sneezing or
banging of the door or the window panes or creaking of the door or the fan etc. can pose a
distraction especially to the listener leading to loss of certain information. Similarly, when one or
both of the persons in the field of communication is/are not well or when there is any kind of
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discomfort on either part communication becomes ineffective. Sometimes, some sort of
confusion also arises which leads to the communication being not successful. Thus, in oral
communication, other barriers such as faulty seating arrangements distance between the sender
and the receiver, fatigue etc. result in miscommunication. In case of written communication, on
the other hand, illegible writing, bad photocopies etc. lead to miscommunication.
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2. Semantic Barriers:

Secondly, barriers pertaining to language vary from spoken words to graphics, charts etc. The
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audience fails to get the intended meaning if the words or expressions used are too complicated
or uncommon. The choice of words or language in which a sender encodes a message will
influence the quality of communication. Because language is a symbolic representation of a
phenomenon, room for interpretation and distortion of the meaning exists.

3. Interpersonal Barriers
Interpersonal barriers occur due to the inappropriate transmission of words between two of more
people.

 Inefficiency in Communication skills

 Negative aspect nurturing in the climate

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The most common reasons for interpersonal barriers are:

 Limited Vocabulary
 Emotional outburst
 Incongruity:(of verbal & non-verbal message)
 Poor listening skills
 Noise in the channel

4. Organizational Barriers

In any organization there are two kinds of barriers commonly seen:

I. Upward communication barriers:

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In upward communication subordinates tend to send up only such information as will show them
in a favorable light. The important thing is that what is sent up may not be always be reliable.

II. Downward communication barriers:

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In downward communication, the loss of information is even greater because it depends much on
written communication (bulletins, notices, and letters) which is not read with enough care.

To overcome organizational barriers there should be:

 Information overload
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 Embellished messages
 Delays in formal communications
 Lack of employee trust and openness
 Different styles of change
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 Intimidation and unavailability of those of rank or status

 Manager's interpretations
 Electronic noises

5. Intrapersonal Barriers:
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Each of us interprets the same information in different ways. This is because of difference in our
experience, education, value & personality. An individual’s in-built barriers are called
Intrapersonal Barriers.
Intrapersonal Barriers are further sub-divided into:

 Wrong assumption
 Varied perceptions
 Differing background
 Impervious category
 Categorical thinking