Lesson 1: Introduction to Professional Communication

SLH1013 Professional English

Communication?

But my major is Business!I need to spend more time on my IT coursework and homework!I want to be focus in Accounting... My heart is in Finance... not in Communication!

Why, oh why?

Communication is something we have been doing all of our lives… so why …?

Why, oh why?

… why do we spend significant effort in a University-level course on communication?

ONE REASON WHYPROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION

Employers of business, IT, accounting, or finance graduates …

… when asked what they look for in new employees …

… nearly unanimously list communication skills as a top priority.

OTHER REASONS WHYPROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION

Graduates of computer science, business, finance, or accounting need good communication skills because…

They need to communicate well with customers …

… to understand and meet customer needs.

They need to communicate with project sponsors …

… to fully understand project inputs and constraints.

They need to clearly communicate their designs to the project sponsors.

They need to communicate well with colleagues …

… and with team members from other fields of expertise …

… to productively complete team tasks …

… and to derive maximum benefit from teamwork.

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUTPROFESSIONAL ENGLISH

If it seems that you are using too much effort or time on your communication course ...

… at the expense of your other courses, consider this:

Even the most innovative, valuable, and important technical work of the decade… if inadequately communicated… will never be implemented, or even recognized.

On the other hand… flawed technical work that is well-communicated… even if it is flawed … can be improved, can be evaluated… and can ultimately be implemented.

USE WHAT YOU KNOWEXERCISE: TAKE A FEW MINUTES

Try and recall some examples where poor communication resulted in…

1. A problem was not solved

2. A problem’s solution was delayed, or

3. A poorer-quality solution than possible was implemented.

Poor communication resulted in

1. A problem was not solved, 2. A problem’s solution was

delayed, or 3. A poorer-quality solution than

possible was implemented.

Source

Adapted by Jaime Alfredo Cabrera from McNeill, Bellamy & Burrows, Introduction to Engineering Design, 2000.