Whati

sCommuni
cat
ion?

The t erm communi cat

ion has been def ined atv ar
ious level
s.Communi cati
on is a dynamic
i
nter acti
vepr ocessthatinvolv
est heeffect ivetr
ansmissionoff acts,i
deas,thoughts,feeli
ngs,and
values.I ti snotpassi ve and doesnotj usthappen;we act i
velyand consci ouslyengage in
communi cat
ioninordertodev elopthei nformationandunder standingrequir
edf oreffect
ivegroup
funct i
oning.Itisdynamicbecausei tinv ol
v esav ari
etyofforcesandact iv
iti
esi nt
eracti
ngov era
periodoft i
me.Thewor d‘ process’suggest sthatcommuni cati
onex i
stsasaf l
ow through a
sequenceorser iesofsteps.Thet erm‘ process’ al
soindicat
esacondi t
ionoff luxandchange.The
rel
at i
onshi psofpeopleengagedi ncommuni cati
oncontinuouslygrowanddev elop.

Communi cationcanal sobeunder stoodasanexchangeofmeani ngandunderstanding.Meaning

i
s cent r
alt o communi cati
on,and t ransmi ssi
on of meani ng isthe centralobj ecti
ve of
communi cati
on.Communi cationbegi nswi t
ht hesendersendingoutmessagecues,whi chare
percei
vedbyt hereceiverwhoassi gnsmeani ngt othem andrespondstothem aspert heneed.
Communi cationcanbecompl eteunlessthemessagesentbyt hesenderispr
operlydecodedatt he
recei
ver’
sendandcompr ehended.Mor eover,communi cati
oncanbeconsi deredef fecti
veonly
whent hereceiver
’sresponseismat chingwitht hemeaningthesenderwantedtoconv ey.

Meani
ng:

Thewor dhasbeenderi
vedfrom Lat
inwords‘communi s’and‘communicar
e’.Themeani ngofthe
fi
rstwordsuggest
smakingcommonand‘ communi car
e’ meanst oshar
eorshar ng.Def
i init
ion1:I
t
i
st heabi
li
tyt
ospeak,
writeortoexpr
essourideas,
feel
ings:clear
lyandconvi
ncingly
.

Defi
niti
on2:Itistheprocessofsendi
ngandr ecei
vi
ngsy
mbolsfort
hepurposeofunder
standi
ng,
knowing,i
nfor
mi ngandinthebr
oadestsense,
improvi
ngt
her
elat
ionwit
htheworl
d.

Defi
nit
ion3(Rober
tAnderson)
:Communi
cat
ioni
sint
erchangeoft
hought
s,opi
nionsori
nfor
mat
ion
byspeech,
wr i
ti
ngorsi
gns.

Communi cat
ional
sobesy mboli
cbecauseiti
snotlimit
edtowordsorlanguage.I
tcanalway sbe
donebyt hehel
pofgestur
esandsy mbolsorfaci
alexpr
essi
ons.Thesy
mbol scanbepresentwith
andwithoutl
anguage.Ourabi
li
tytosymboli
zeandexpressmakestheprocessofcommuni cati
on
possi
ble.

Wer efertocommunicat
ionasaskil
l,i
tmeanswear egoingtoappl
yt hi
sskillf
orsomepurpose.
Thepur posescanvaryfr
om simpl
esociali
nter
act
ionstorunni
nggov er
nance,itcanr
angefrom
gi
vingasmal lpr
esent
ati
onintheof
fi
cetomakeheadlinesi
nthemedia.Weusecommuni cati
onon
adai l
ybasis.I
tisanimport
antmedium toachi
eveandacquiremanyper sonalandpr
ofessi
onal
goals.

DI
MENSI
ONSOFTECHNI
CALENGLI
SH

Fl
owofcommuni
cat
ion
1. I
nanor
gani
zat
ion,
communi
cat
ionf
lowsi
n4mai
ndi
rect
ions-
2. Downwar
d
3. Upwar
d
4. Lat
eral
5. Di
agonal
6. Downwar
dFl
ow ofCommuni
cat
ion:
 
Communi
cat
iont
hatf
lowsf
rom ahi
gherl
eveli
nanor
gani
zat
iont
oa
l
owerl
eveli
sadownwar
dcommuni
cat
ion.I
not
herwor
ds,
communi
cat
ionf
rom super
ior
stosubor
dinat
esi
n
achai
nofcommandi
sadownwar
dcommuni
cat
ion.Thi
scommuni
cat
ionf
lowi
susedbyt
hemanager
sto
t
ransmi
twor
k-r
elat
edi
nfor
mat
iont
otheempl
oyeesatl
owerl
evel
s.Empl
oyeesr
equi
ret
hisi
nfor
mat
ionf
or
per
for
mingt
hei
rjobsandf
ormeet
ingt
heexpect
ati
onsoft
hei
rmanager
s.Downwar
dcommuni
cat
ioni
sused
byt
hemanager
sfort
hef
oll
owi
ngpur
poses-
 Pr
ovi
dingf
eedbackonempl
oyeesper
for
mance 7.

 Gi
vi
ngj
obi
nst
ruct
ions

 Pr
ovi
dingacompl
eteunder
standi
ngoft
heempl
oyeesj
obaswel
last
o
communi
cat
ethem howt
hei
rjobi
srel
atedt
oot
herj
obsi
ntheor
gani
zat
ion.

 Communi
cat
ingt
heor
gani
zat
ionsmi
ssi
onandv
isi
ont
otheempl
oyees.

 Hi
ghl
i
ght
ingt
hear
easofat
tent
ion.
Organizat
ionalpubli
cat
ions,
cir
cul
ars,
lett
ertoemployees,gr
oupmeet
ings
etcar
eal l
exampl esofdownwardcommuni cat
ion.I
nordertohav
eeff
ecti
ve
anderror-
freedownwar dcommunicat
ion,managersmust:
Adv
ant
ageormer
it
sofdownwar
dcommuni
cat
ion

Downwar
dcommuni
cat
ionbenef
it
stheor
gani
zat
ioni
nmanydi
ff
erentway
s.Thr
ought
his
communi
cat
ion,super
iorpr
ovi
denecessar
yinf
ormat
ionanddi
rect
ivest
othesubor
dinat
es.
Themaj
oradv
ant
agesofdownwar
dcommuni
cat
ionar
ehi
ghl
i
ght
edbel
ow:

 Del
egat
ingaut
hor
it
yandr
esponsi
bil
i
ty:Del
egat
ionmeansent
rust
ingt
hesubor
dinat
es
wi
th some r
esponsi
bil
i
ties al
ong wi
th due aut
hor
it
y.I
tis essent
ialt
o make t
he
subor
dinat
escapabl
einper
for
mingt
hei
rjobs.Si
ncedownwar
dcommuni
cat
ionst
art
s
f
orm hi
gherl
evel
,ithel
psmanger
sindel
egat
ingaut
hor
it
yandr
esponsi
bil
i
tyt
othe
r
ightper
sons.
 I
ssui
ng or
der
sand i
nst
ruct
ions:Downwar
d communi
cat
ion i
stheonl
ymeanst
o
ci
rcul
atev
ari
ous or
der
s,i
nst
ruct
ions,gui
dance and adv
ices t
othe subor
dinat
es.
Wi
thoutdownwar
dcommuni
cat
ion,
organi
zat
ioni
sli
keaboatwi
thoutboat
man.

Demer
it
sofdownwar
dcommuni
cat
ion
1. Ti
me consumi
ng: Downwar
d communi
cat
ion i
s a del
ayed pr
ocess. I
n t
his
communi
cat
ion,
inf
ormat
ionf
lowst
hroughdi
ff
erentl
evel
sofhi
erar
chy
.Asar
esul
t,when
i
nfor
mat
ionr
eachest
othel
owerl
evel
wor
ker
s,i
tmayhav
elosti
tssi
gni
fi
canceorut
il
it
y.
2. Di
stor
ti
onofi
nfor
mat
ion:Downwar
dcommuni
cat
ional
sosuf
fer
sfor
m pr
obl
em of
di
stor
ti
onofmessage.Peopl
ehav
ethet
endencyt
omodi
fyormani
pul
atei
nfor
mat
ion.
Ther
efor
e,i
nfor
mat
ioni
spassedf
rom onei
ndi
vi
dualt
oanot
herorf
orm onel
evelt
o
anot
her
,aut
hent
ici
tyofi
nfor
mat
ioni
slost
.

1. Upwar
dFl
owofCommuni
cat
ion:
 
Communi
cat
iont
hatf
lowst
oahi
gherl
eveli
nanor
gani
zat
ioni
scal
l
ed
 upward communicat
ion.I
tprovi
des feedback on how wellt
he or
ganizat
ion i
sfunct
ioni
ng.The
subor
dinat
esuseupwardcommuni
cati
ont oconveyt
heirpr
obl
emsandperf
ormancestot
hei
rsuperi
ors.

Thesubor di
natesalsouseupwardcommuni
cat
iontot
ellhowwel
ltheyhaveunderst
oodthedownward
communication.Itcanalsobeusedbyt
heempl
oyeest
osharet
hei
rviewsandideasandtopar
ti
cipat
ein
thedeci
sion-makingprocess.

Upwardcommuni cat
ionleadstoamor ecommi t
tedandl oyalwor kfor
ceinanor gani
zati
onbecausethe
empl
oy eesaregiven achancet oraiseand speakdi ssati
sfaction i
ssuest othehigherlevel
s.The
managers getto know aboutt he employees feel
ings towar ds theirjobs,peers,superv
isorand
or
ganizati
oningener
al.Manager
scant husaccor
dinglytakeactionsf ori
mpr ovi
ngthi
ngs.

Gri
evanceRedr essalSyst
em,Compl aintandSuggest i
onBox,JobSatisf
acti
onsur vey
setcallhelpin
i
mpr ov
ingupwar dcommuni cat
ion.OtherexamplesofUpwardCommuni cat
ionare-perf
ormancerepor
ts
madebyl ow levelmanagementf orrevi
ewingbyhi gherl
evelmanagement,employeeatt
it
udesurvey
s,
l
ett
ersfrom employees,
empl oy
ee-managerdiscussi
onsetc.

Adv
ant
agesofupwar
dcommuni
cat
ion

1. Pr
ovi
ding suggest
ions and opi
nions:Byupwar
d communi
cat
ion sy
stem,subor
dinat
etakes necessar
y
suggest
ionsandopi
nions 
fr
om 
super
ior
saboutt
hewor
krel
atedi
ssuesoft
heor
gani
zat
ion.
2. Mot
ivat
ingt
oempl
oyees:Upwar
dcommuni
cat
ionsy
stem al
l
ows 
l
ower
 l
evelst
afft
oexpr
esst
hei
rat
ti
tudeor
opi
niont
oupperl
evelst
aff
.Asar
esul
tsub-
ordi
nat
esar
einf
luencedt
owor
kmor
etowar
dsf
ulf
il
lmentt
o
target.
Di
sadvantagesofupwar
dcommuni
cat
ion

I
nspi
teofhav
ingmanyadv
ant
agesupwar
dcommuni
cat
ioni
tisnotf
ree 
fr
om 
l
imi
tat
ionsofdi
sadv
ant
ages.The
mai
ndi
sadv
ant
agesofupwar
dcommuni
cat
ionar
easf
oll
ows:

.
1. Ri
skofdi
stor
ti
on ofmessages:I
nupwar
d communi
cat
ion,subor
dinat
eswi
l
li
ngl
ydi
stor
tthemessage
becauset
heyf
eari
ftheyt
ell
theor
igi
nal
factt
othei
rbosses,
theymayf
acesomepr
obl
ems.
2. Del
ay:I
tisani
mpor
tantl
i
mit
ati
onofupwar
dcommuni
cat
ioni
sthel
ongandsl
owmov
ementofi
nfor
mat
ion
t
othehi
gheraut
hor
it
y.

2. .
Lat
eral
/Hor
izont
alCommuni
cat
ion:
 
Communi
cat
iont
hatt
akespl
aceatsamel
evel
sofhi
erar
chyi
nanor
gani
zat
ioni
scal
l
edl
ater
al
communication,
i.
e.,
communicati
onbet weenpeer
s,bet
weenmanager
satsamelev
elsorbet
weenanyhor
izont
all
yequi
val
ent
organi
zat
ionalmember.Theadvantagesofhori
zont
alcommuni
cati
onareasf
oll
ows:

I
tist
imesav
ing.

I
tfaci
l
itat
esco-
ordi
nat
ionoft
het
ask.

I
tfaci
l
itat
esco-
oper
ati
onamongt
eam member
s.

I
tpr
ovi
desemot
ional
andsoci
alassi
stancet
otheor
gani
zat
ional
member
s.

I
thel
psi
nsol
vi
ngv
ari
ousor
gani
zat
ional
probl
ems.

I
tisameansofi
nfor
mat
ionshar
ing

Itcanalsobeusedf
orr
esol
vi
ngconf
li
ctsofadepar
tmentwi
thot
herdepar
tmentor
confl
ict
swithi
nadepar
tment
.
Adv
ant
agesofhor
izont
alcommuni
cat
ion

 I
nfor
mal
andsweetr
elat
ionshi
p:Thi
sissamest
atusl
evel
’
scommuni
cat
ionsy
stem.Theyexchangei
deas,
knowl
edgeandt
hought
s.So,
ani
nfor
mal
andsweetr
elat
ionshi
pcanbemai
ntai
ned.
 Co-
ordi
nat
ionofact
ivi
ti
es:
Fort
heachi
evement
soft
heexpect
edr
esul
tofanor
gani
zat
ion 
i
nter
depar
tment
al 
co-
ordi
nati
onsyst
em mustbedev
elopedwhi
chi
sacr
it
eri
aofhor
izont
alcommuni
cat
ion.
Di
sadvant
agesorl
imi
tati
onsofHori
zont
alcommuni
cation

Hor
izont
alcommuni
cat
ionhasnotonl
ysomeadv
ant
agesbutal
sosomedi
sadv
ant
ageswhi
char
efol
l
owed:

 Lackofmot
ivat
ion:
Hor
izont
alcommuni
cat
ionof
tenf
ail
ssi
mpl
ybecauseor
gani
zat
ionmember
sar
eunwi
l
li
ng
t
oexpendt
headdi
ti
onal
eff
ortt
hati
trequi
res.I
tmayr
equi
recont
actwi
thpeopl
einuni
tsandt
hechannel
s
andr
ulesofi
nter
act
ionmaybeuncl
ear
.Somet
imeswedonotr
eal
l
yknowt
hesepeopl
e.Theneedt
o
communi
cat
ewi
tht
hem makesusuneasyort
akest
oomucht
ime.
 Ri
val
ry:
Riv
alr
ywi
thi
nor
gani
zat
ionsoccur
sforexampl
ewhent
hedi
ff
erentl
evel
sofanor
gani
zat
ionf
ail
to
cooper
atewi
thoneanot
her
.
4.
 Di
agonalorcr
osswi
secommuni
cat
ion:
Di
agonal
orcr
osswi
secommuni
cat
iont
akespl
acewhenpeopl
ewor
kingatt
hesamel
evel
int
eract
wi
tht
hosewor
kingatahi
gherorl
ower
-l
evel
ofor
gani
sat
ional
hier
archyandacr
osst
heboundar
ies
oft
hei
rrepor
ti
ngr
elat
ionshi
ps.

Adv
ant
agesofdi
agonal
communi
cat
ion:
1.
 Coor
dinat
ion:
Thi
scr
osswi
secommuni
cat
ionser
vest
hei
mpor
tantpur
poseofcoor
dinat
iont
hroughi
nfor
mal
meet
ings,
for
mal
conf
erences,
lunchhourmeet
ings,
gener
alnot
iceset
c.

2.
 Mor
aleboost
ing:
Bypr
ovi
dingoppor
tuni
ti
est
olowerl
evel
wor
ker
stoi
nter
actwi
thmanager
sini
nfor
mal
meet
ingsi
t
gi
vest
hei
rmor
aleaboostandf
urt
hercommi
tmentt
otheor
gani
sat
ion.Mor
eandmor
e
or
gani
sat
ionsar
enowencour
agi
ngcr
osswi
secommuni
cat
ionandbui
l
dingupbonhomi
e.

Li
mit
ati
ons:
1.
 Fearofi
nfr
ingement
:
Thesuper
iormayf
eel
itani
nfr
ingementt
hathi
ssubor
dinat
ehasbeengi
venunduei
mpor
tanceand
t
hathehasbeenbypassed.

2.
 Resi
stancet
ocompl
i
ance:
Thesuper
iormaynoti
mpl
ementt
hesuggest
ionashehasnotbeenconsul
ted.

3.
 Anar
chy
:
Thel
ackofaccept
edpr
ocedur
esmayl
eadt
oint
ernal
anar
chyandext
ernal
ani
mosi
ty.
EXTENTANDCOVERAGE(
IMPORTANCE)
THEROLEOFENGLI
SHI
NTECHNI
CALCOMMUNI
CATI
ON

Intheageofgl obalizati
on,engi neeringst udentsandpr actiti
onersneedt oenhancet heirEngl ish
communi cati
onski llsandot hersof tski ll
sinor dertocopewi t
hi ncr
easi nglyt oughcompet i
tioni n
thejobmar ket.Mer esubjectknowl edgei nthechosenf ieldofengi neer ingi snotgoi ngt obea
guarant eef oranengi neeri
nggr aduat et ogetagoodj oborexcelatt hewor kplace.Mul tinational
corporat i
ons( MNCs)andmaj orinformat i
ontechnol ogy( IT)compani esinI ndiar ecrui
tengi neer ing
candidat es who hav e good Engl i
sh communi cation ski ll
s.I nt hi
s hi ghlycompet itive soci ety,
profi
ciencyi nEngl ishisconsi deredoneoft heempl oy abil
ityskill
s.Engi neeringst udentsneedt obe
abletot hinkcr i
ti
cal l
y,solveproblems, communi cat
ecl ear l
y ,
becr eati
v eandwor kinat eam i nor der
togetpl acedi nar eputedcompany .I nmanyi nstit
ut esoft echnology ,Englishl anguaget eacher s
areinvol vedi nplacementt rai
ning.Ast herei
sani ncreasi ngf ocusonanddemandf orsof tski l
ls,
theEngl ishf orScienceandTechnol ogy( EST)practiti
oner sinengi neeringcol legesar eexpect edt o
playther oleofcommuni cati
onski llsconsul tantsandsof tski l
lstrainers.Ther eisashi f
tf rom
i
mpar tingmer elinguisti
cski l
lstomul ti
-skil
lsi
nani nt egratedmanner .

Techni
calcommunicati
on isthe pr
ocessoftr
ansmi
tt
ing f
act
sand i
nfor
mat
ion t
o a def
ined
audi
enceforaspeci
fi
cpurpose.I
notherwor
dsi
tis

”
wri
ti
ngf
orunder
standi
ng”
.

Theaim oftechnicalwr i
ti
ngist otr
anslatescienti
fi
candt echni
calinf
ormati
oninawayt hatiscl ear
and easyto under stand.Thespeci fi
ci nfor
mationconv eyed shoul
d behelpfult ot her eader.
Techni
calwr i
tingisaf or
m ofwr iti
ngt hatisextensivel
yusedt oprepar
emanual s,descr i
ptionof
newelectr
onicpr oducts,i
nstructi
onsonhowt ooper ateaparti
cul
armachine,et
c.At echnicalwriter
i
sof t
enaskedt ocreatedocument at
ionf oratechnology.Thedocumentati
onmustcl earl
yexpl ain
howtoinstallanduset hattechnology.

Technicalwr
iti
ngisdiff
erentf
rom usualessaywr it
ing.Peopleof t
enconfusetechnicalwri
ti
ngwith
essayandcr eati
vewr i
ti
ng.Howev er,thesearet otall
ydiffer
entst y
lesofwr i
ting.Useoff l
owery
words,doublemeaninginnuendosandexpl ai
ningthesamet hinginadiffer
entwayi softenfound
i
nessay s.Ont heot
herhand,technicalwr i
teupsar epreciseandessent i
all
yfocusont hesubject
,
whichisexplai
nedinthemostconv inci
ngmanner .Yetthedatai sconci
seandt helanguageusedis
str
aightf
orward.

Thispr ofessi
on,asmanyt hi
nk,isnotaboutwr it
ingabunchoft echnicalwords.Nowaday s,
technicalwr it
ingisusedi ndiver
sefieldsincludi
ngr obot i
cs,chemist
ry,softwareandot her
s.An
educat ionaltextbookonsubj ectsli
kephy si
csorbi ologyisal so aform oft echnicalwrit
ing.
Techni calwr i
ters presentinf
ormati
on i n sci
ence,el ectr
onics orothert echni
calar eas on a
professi onall
evel,backedupbydatafacts,sothati
nfor mationiscompleteandaccur at
e.

1.Technicalwrit
ingconductsbusi ness
Iti
sev i
dentthattechnicalwri
ti
ngi samaj orcomponentoft heworkenv
ironment .Thr
oughtechni
cal
cor
respondenceinstructi
onsar emai ntained,techni
caldescri
pti
onandspecificat
ionsareprepar
ed,
summar i
esandr esumesar epreparedandsi t
esonWor ldWi deWebarepr eparedwhichinf
ormt he
worl
daboutone’scompanypr oduct.

2.Techni
cal
wri
ti
ngt
akest
ime:
Inaddi
ti
ont
oser
vingv
aluabl
epur
posesi
nthewor
kpl
ace,
techni
cal
 communicati
onisimport
antbecauseitrequi
resyourti
me.Acr
ossallprofessi
ons,
wor ker
s
spendnearl
yonethir
doftheirtimewr
iti
ng(31percent)
.Thesuper
visorsnotonlyspendthei
r
ti
meinwr i
ti
ngbuttheyal
sospendaddi t
ional
timeinrevi
ewi
ngandrevisingthewri
ti
ng
composedbytheirsubor
dinates.

3.Techni
cal
Wri
ti
ngCost
smoney
:

Companypaysitsemployeesforthei
rwri
ti
ngskil
l.Supposeanempl oyeespendsonehouradayin
wri
ti
ng.Itmeanscompanypaystheemployeeforsevenhoursaweek,timespentbyhimi nt
echni
cal
wri
ti
ng.Goodwrit
ingi
ssupposedtohaveaddi
ti
onalmonetaryv
alue.Goodproposal
sgener
atei
ncome

4.Technicalwri
ti
ngGener atesIncome:Yourcommuni cationskil
lsdomor et hanjustcostthe
companymoney ;theset al
entscanearnmoneyf orbot hyouandt hecompany .Awel l
-wr
it
ten
saleslett
er,f
li
er,brochure,proposal
,orWebsi tecangener atecorpor
ateincome.Ef f
ect
ivel
y
writt
ennewslett
erst ocl i
entsandstakehol
derscankeepcust omershappyandbr i
nginnew
cl
ients.Goodwrit
tencommuni cati
onisnotj
ustpartofyoursalar
y—ithel
pspayy ourwages.

Pur
pose/
Obj
ect
ivesofTechni
cal
Wri
ti
ng

1.
ToI
nfor
m2ToI
nst
ruc
t3.
Toc
ouns
el4.
ToPer
suade

1.Whati
sthegoal
ofi
nfor
mat
ivewr
it
ing?

Infor
mat i
vewr i
ti
ngi stheretot el
lthefact
s.Infor
mat i
onisav er
satil
ecommodi ty.Itenhances
analyt
icalski
llanddecisiveness,provi
desmostsust ai
nabl
ecompet it
iveadv ant
ageandgui des
theorganizat
iontowardseconomyandef f
ici
ency.Thegoalofthewr i
ttenmat er
ialistotransfer
someoft heknowl edget hattheauthorispresenti
ng,tothereader.Businessneedsdi f
ferent
typesofinfor
mat i
onnotonl ytomanagedi f
fer
entoperati
onsandprocessesbutal sotoensur eits
exist
enceinthecompet it
ivewor l
d.Inf
ormati
onactsli
kelubri
cat
ingoilforbusi
nesst owor kbetter
andthriveint
hecompet iti
on.

2.Instr
uctionalwri
tingisj ustassounds.Itisdonet ot eachsomet hing.Itshowst hef act
s,
usuall
yindescendi ngor derfrom mostimpor t
anttoleastimpor t
ant.Thegoali stot eachor
equipther eadertodosomet hi
ng.Ani nst
ructi
onisthedi recti
veissuedbymanagementt o
subordi
natesi nauthori
tati
vemanner ,speci
fyi
ngt odoorr estrai
nfrom doingsomecour seof
acti
on.Issuingofordersisessentialt
oaccompl i
shthetask.Thelanguageofi nst
ruct
ionshould
al
way sbesi mpleandstraight.I
tshouldbecomplete.

3.Toper suade:Persuasi oni stheactofi nf

luencingt heot herpersonst ov ol
unt ari
l
ychanget hei
r
atti
tudes,beli
efs,f eelings ort houghts.Iti sr eall
y har dt o change someone' s mind and
somet i
mesi seveni mpossi ble.
Yoursuccesswi lldependonwhoy ouaretryi
ngt oper suade, whatyouar erequest i
ng,andhow
entrenchedtheyar einthei rownv i
ews.Persuasi onisusedwhen  t
acklingani ssueaboutwhi ch
peopl edi
sagree.I
dent if
yy ourclaim,forexampl eyoumi ghtpresentfactsthaty our 
audience 
doesnotknow.Cl aimi sast atementofthepoi ntyouar et ryi
ngtoprove.Then, itisimportantf
or
yout oinfl
uencetheirinterpretati
onofthefactsy ouar epr esent
ingbecausepeopl etendt o
disagreeaboutwhatt hesef actsmeanandwhatshoul dbedoneaboutt hem. 

4.Tocounsel:Counsel
ingseemsl ikeadvicebutcounseli
ngiswithprofessi
onaltouchbyamanof
great
erknowledgeandski l
l.I
tismeantf orpersonsfaci
ngpersonalorof f
icialpr
oblemsand
consequentl
ythei
rdist
ur banceaffect
st heperfor
manceont hewor k.Wit
hcounsel i
nghi spai
ns
andemot i
onsar eshared,histensionisr el
eased.Thepurposeofcounsel i
ngi sregaini
ngthe
physi
calaswellasment alhealt
h.
Ty
pesofdocument
/DI
MENSI
ONSOFTECHNI
CALWRI
TING

APPROACHES:
For
mal
andI
nfor
mal
:

Formalcommuni cat i
oni sother wiseknownasof ficialcommuni cati
on.I ncaseoff ormal
communi cati
onweusef ormal language.For mal communi cationisusedf orser i
ouspur poses.E. g.
Debate,di
scussions, l
ectures,intervi
ew, semi nars, speech,Gr oupwor k,
meet i
ngs, present ations,
publi
cspeaking,pr essbr iefi
nget c.Thoughf ormal communi cati
onhasal otofpassi onbutmostof
theti
mesi ti
sber ef tpersonal feeli
ngsandemot ions.That ’
swhycr i
ticscat egorizeformal
communi cati
onasar ti
fi
cialcommuni cation.Infor mal communi cati
on, thesamet opic
communi catedatdi fferentplaces, t
odi fferentper sonsunderdi f
ferentsi t
uat i
onsandenv ironment
canvary.Thestat usandposi tionoft heper sonsi nv ol
vedint hepr ocessal sochangest hef or m of
for
mal communi cat ion.Thecommuni cationinwhi chtheflowofi nfor mationi salreadydef inedis
ter
medasFor mal Communi cat i
on.Thecommuni cat i
onfollowsa  hierar
chi calchainofcommand
whichisestabli
shedbyt heor ganisati
oni tself
.Ingener al
,thistypeofcommuni cationisused
excl
usivel
yinthewor kplace,andt heempl oyeesar eboundt of oll
owi twhi l
eper formi ngt heirdut i
es.

Or
ganizat
ionalStruct
ure
Exampl e: 
Requests,commands, orders,repor
tsetc.
Thef ormalcommuni cationi
soff ourt y
pes:
Upwar dorBot t
om- up: Thecommuni cati
oninwhichtheflowofi nfor
mationgoesf r
om subordi
natetosuperi
or
authority.
Downwar dorTop-down:  
Thecommuni cati
oninwhichtheflowofi nf
ormat i
ongoesf r
om super
iortosubordi
nat
e.
HorizontalorLateral
: Thecommuni cati
onbetweent woempl oyeesofdiffer
entdepartment
swor ki
ngatthesamelevel
.
Crosswi seorDiagonal :
 Thecommuni cati
onbetweentheempl oyeesoftwodi f
ferentdepar
tmentsworkingatdi
ff
erent
l
evels.
Definit
ionofInformalCommuni cation
Informal communi cationincludesal lthecommuni cat i
ont hatwedoei therinapr ofessi
onal setup
ori nsoci alsetupwi thoutanyser i
ouspur poseat tachedt oi t
.E.g.casual greeti
ngsorpr ivate
conv er sati
ons, chatti
ng, gossipinget c..
.Informal communi cat i
onisnat uralandf reef l
ow
communi cationwi thoutanyr ules, r
est r
icti
onsandf ormal i
ty.Itrefl
ectsper sonal touch,humi li
tyand
emot ions.Onemustunder st
andt hattherei sahai rl i
nedi fferencebet weenf ormal andinformal
communi cation.Languageusedi nbot htypesofcommuni cationdependsont heki ndof
relationshippl usinwhatcont extt hecommuni cationi st akingplace.Theenv ir
onmenthasa
def i
niter ol
ei ndecidingt hedegr eeoff ormalit
yi nthepr ocessofcommuni cati
on.
Thecommuni cati
onwhi chdoesnotf oll
owanypr e-def i
nedchannel fort
het ransmi ssionofinformation
i
sknownasi nformal communi cati
on. Thistypeofcommuni cat i
onmov esf r
eelyinal ldir
ecti
ons, and
thus, itisveryquickandr api
d.Inanyor ganizati
on,thist ypeof  communi cati
oni sverynat ur
al aspeople
i
nter actwi t
heachot heraboutt heirprofessionalli
fe, personal lif
e,andothermat t
er.It’
sanot hernamei s
greapev i
ne.

Exampl
e: 
Shar
ingoff
eel
i
ngs,
casual
discussi
on,
gossi
ps,
etc.
Thei
nfor
mal
communi
cat
ioni
soff
ourt
ypes:

Singl
eSt
randChai
n: 
Thecommuni cat
ioni
nwhichoneper
sont
ell
somet
hingt
oanot
her
,whoagai
nsay
ssomet
hingt
o
someotherper
sonandthe 
processgoeson.

Singl
eSt r
andChain
Clust
erChain: 
Thecommunicat
ioninwhichonepersont
ell
ssomethi
ngtosomeofi
tsmostt
rust
edpeopl
e,andt
hen
theytel
lsthem t
othei
rtr
ust
worthy 
fri
endsandthecommunicat
ioncont
inues.

Cl
usterChai
n
Pr
obabil
it
yChai
n: 
Thecommunicati
onhappenswhenaper
sonr
andoml
ychoosessomeper
sonst
opassont
he
i
nfor
mat i
onwhi
chisofl
it
tl
eint
erestbutnoti
mport
ant
.

Probabil
it
yChain
GossipChain: 
Thecommuni
cati
onstar
tswhenaper
sontel
lssomet
hingt
oagr oupofpeople,andt
hent
heypasson
theinf
ormationtosomemore 
peopl
eandinthi
swaythei
nfor
mati
onispassedontoeveryone.

Gossi
pChai
n

BASI
SFOR
FORMALCOMMUNI
CATI
ON I
NFORMALCOMMUNI
CATI
ON
COMPARI
SON

Meani
ng At ypeofv er
balcommuni cat
ion Atypeofv erbalcommuni cati
on
i
nwhi chtheint
erchangeof i
nwhi chtheinterchangeof
i
nfor mationi
sdonet hroughthe i
nformationdoesnotf ol
lowany
pre-defi
nedchannelsisknownas channelsi.
e.thecommuni cat
ion
formal communi cat
ion. str
etchesinalldirect
ions.

Anot
herName Of
fi
ci
alCommuni
cat
ion Gr
apev
inecommuni
cat
ion

Rel
i
abi
l
ity Mor
e Compar
ati
vel
yless

Speed Sl
ow Ver
yFast

Ev
idence Asthecommuni cati
onis Nodocument
aryev
idence.
gener
all
ywrit
ten,document
ary
evi
denceispresent
.

Ti
me Yes No
Consumi
ng
 BASI
SFOR
FORMALCOMMUNI
CATI
ON I
NFORMALCOMMUNI
CATI
ON
COMPARI
SON

Adv
ant
age Ef
fect
iveduetot
imel
yand Effici
entbecauseemployeescan
sy
stemati
cflowofi
nfor
mati
on. discusswor krel
atedpr
oblems,
thissavestimeandcostofthe
organizat
ion.

Di
sadv
ant
age Dist
ort
ionduetol
ongchai
nof Spr
eadofr
umor
s
communicati
on.

Secr
ecy Ful
lsecr
ecyi
smai
ntai
ned. Iti
sdiff
icul
ttomai
ntai
nthe
secrecy
.

Fl
owof Onlythr
oughpr
edef
ined Canmov
efr
eel
y.
I
nfor
mat
ion channel
s.

I
nordertobecomeasuccessf
ult
echni
cal
wri
ter
,onemustknowt
hechar
act
eri
sti
csoft
echni
cal
wri
ti
ng.Theyareasf
oll
ows:

FEATURESOFTECHNI
CALWRI
TING

Cl
ari
ty

Itisessent i
alt hatt het echni calwr it
erunder standst her eader '
sbackgr oundandneeds.Maki ngt he
document ati
ont oot echni calcanconf uset her eader .Thedocumenti smeani nglessi fthei ntended
audi encedoesnotunder standwhatt hewr iterwant st ocommuni cate.Wr i
terswhoar ewel lawar e
oft heiraudi encesar einaposi tiontogiveasol ut i
ont ot hei rproblems.Thepr ofessi onoft echni cal
wr i
tingdemandssi mpl icityofl anguageandcl arityofexpr ession.Onemustav oidunnecessar y
wor dst hatmayputt her eader sinaquandar y.Thewr it
tendocumentmustbecl earandconci seso
thatt het extbecomeseasi ert ogr aspandunder stand.Thewayy oupr esenty ourt echnicaldat ais
alsov eryi mpor tantf rom t heuser '
spointofv iew.Fori nstance,supposey ouhav eexpl ained
compl ext echni caldat ai nthemostsi mplemanner ,yeti twon' thol dtheat t
ent i
onoft heuseri fitis
present edasonebi gpar agraph.Thepoi nti s,y ougot obecr eativewheni tcomest of ormat ti
ng
yourt echnicaldat a.Yourt echni caldatamustbedi videdi ntosubheads.I fitisani nstruct i
on
manual ,t hen i nst ead ofsub headi ng go f orbul leted f ormat .Howev er,i fthe sequence of
i
nst ructionshol dspr iority,oneshoul dgof ornumber edl ist.Keypoi ntsper t
ainingt opr ecaut ionsor
war ningsmaybeemphasi zedusi ngbull
ets.Adocumentpr esentedi nawel l-organizedmanneri s
veryeasyt or eadandt hei mpor t
antdatat hatt heuseri slookingf ori savailableatagl ance.To
makedat aeasi lyaccessi bl
e,onecangi v
et echni calspeci fi
cat i
onofanypr oducti nat abul arf orm.
Youal soneedt ocompl ementy ourdescriptivet echni caldat awi thagr aphici mageoft hepr oduct
i
nf ocus.Thi sisv isual l
yappeal ingandwi lldef initelyar r
estt heattentionofthemostcasual viewer
Descr
ipt
iveness

Awel l-
wr i
tt
ent echni
caldocumental way scont ai
nsanswerstoant ici
patedprobl emsi nthepr oduct
orapplicati
on.Thi saspectoft echnicalwr i
tingiscommonl yseeni narti
clest hatarer el
atedt o
tr
oubleshootingapar t
icul
arsoftwareorpr oduct .I
fyouareexplai
ningthefunctionsoft hebuttonson
atoolbar,youneedt oex pl
ainALLoft hem.  
Ifagadgethast wocommuni cationpor ts,youneedt o
expl
ainhoweachoft hem isused. Anyomi ssionincover
ingallsystem component sorattri
butesina
documentmeansanev entualcal
ltothecust omerservi
ce.

Accur
acy

Accuracyisanimportantcharacteri
sti
cofanyt echni
caldocument.Asli
ghtmi stakecanhav egrave
consequences.Forinstance,ifyouf or
gett oment i
onsomei mportantfeaturesofanew mobi le
phone,thecustomersmayt hinkthatther
eisnot hi
ngspeciali
nthatphoneandwi ll
notpref
ert obuy
i
t.Effecti
vecommuni cati
onr equir
esqualit
ycont entandlanguagethatisaccur ateandr eadabl
e.
Technicalwri
ti
ngdoesnotmeant hatyoutranslat
einfor
mationunquesti
oningly.Inthi
sprofessi
on,
onemustknowf orwhom thedocumenti sbei ngwrit
tenandwhetheriti
saccur ate.

Cor
rect
ness

Thegr ammat icalstr

uctureofyourtechni
caldocumentshoul dbecorrectandfreef
rom anykindof
ambi guit
ies.Thei nt
endedmeani ngwi l
lnotbecommuni catedtother eaderi
fthedocumenthas
ambi guoussent ences.Ther eaderi ssuret o getannoy ed,ifyourdocumenti sreplet
ewi th
mi sspel
li
ngs and i ncorr
ectconstructi
on ofsent ences.Hence,apar tfrom pr
ovi
ding corr
ect
technicalinf
ormation,ensur
ethatthedataisgrammat ical
l
ycor r
ect
.

UTI
LITY:Wit
hunder
standi
ngthecharacter
isti
csoft echni
cal
writi
ng,
y oucanbet
tercomprehend
howthist
ypeofwri
ti
ngisused.Technical
wr it
ingisfoundever
ywhere.Ther
eareav ar
iet
yof
di
ff
erentt
ypesofwri
ti
ngwhichuseat echnicalsty
le.
Forexampl
e,i
nst
ruct
ionsofal
lsor
tsar
eaper
fectexampl
eoft
echni
cal
wri
ti
ng.
 Wheny
ouopenupani
nst
ruct
ionmanual
,ast
her
eader
,thegoal
ist
obei
nfor
medaboutt
he
productsot hatyoucanusei taseff
ici
entl
yaspossible.
 L abr eport
sar eanotherexampleoftechni
calwri
ti
ng.Themai npurposeofalabreporti
sto
explaintheoccurrencesinalabsothatother
swi l
lbeabletogaini
nformati
on.
 Dr iv
ingdi r
ecti
onscanbeconsi deredatypeoftechni
calwri
tingasthegoalistoclear
lyand
effi
cientl
yprovideinst
ructi
onsonhowt ogof r
om pointAtopointB.
Over
all,
technicalwrit
ingisav er
yusefulf
orm ofwri
ti
ngthatisencounteredbyevery
onealmost
ev
eryday .
Her
ear
esomeoft
hef
eat
uresof(
good)t
echni
cal
wri
ti
ng:

1.Useoff amiliarandeasywor ds:I nprofessionalandt echnicalwr i

ti
ng,i nsteadoft heabst ract,
famili
ar wor ds should be used.Techni calwr iti
ng does not r equirev er
bose st yl
e or
cir
cuml ocution.Hencet hewr itershoul dnotuset oomanywor dswher ef ew woul ddosi nce
evasivetalkwi l
ldiverttheat tentionoft hewr it
eraswel lasoft her eaderfrom t hemai npoint.
2.Specifi
caudi ence:Techni calwr i
ting engagesaspeci fi
caudi ence.I n anywr it
ing situation,
audiencehasaspeci f
icr ole.Agoodwr i
terpr epareshisdocument skeepi ngi nv iew diff
erent
audiencer oles.E.g.amanualf oroper ati
ngacomput erispr eparedf ort heoper atorwher et he
entir
epr ocessi sdescr i
bed. Techwr it
ingmustbeappr opriatefori t
si ntendedaudi ence.Thi s
audiencecanbeagener alaudi ence,busi nesspeopl e,oraspeci ali
zedgr oupofengi neersand
scienti
sts. 
3.Useofcl earsentences:  Thewr i
tershouldpl acet hemai ni deaatt heout set.Heshoul dfollow
normalwor dor der -subject -v
er b-obj
ect.I nt hi
swor dor der,t hef irstsent encei sthet opic
 sentenceinwhicht hemai ni deai spresent
ed.Lat er,t
hewr i
terdevel
opst hemainideainclear
sentences.
4.Useofsent encesofmoder at elength:Expert
sar eoft heopi nionthatsentencesshouldbeof
moder at
elength.Toomuchshor tortoomuchl ongsent encesmaket hewr i
ti
ngseithertoo
si
mpl eortoodiff
icult
.Gener all
y,sentencesof12t o25wor dsshouldbewr i
tt
en.
5.l
ogicalandsequent i
al:
 Technicalwr i
tinginf
ormationcannotcont r
adictit
self
.Alli
nfor
mat i
on,al
l
stepsneedtomakesensewi t
hr especttooneanot her.
 I
fy ouneedt oopenal i
dinordertoreach
abut t
on,youneedt otellther eadert oopent hel i
dfirstandt hent opressthebutton.Inthe
abovecase,donoti nstr
ucttheusert opressthebut t
onandt henopent heli
d.

6. Us eofac ti
vev oic
e:Int hes entenc
eswr it
teninact
iv
evoice,theperf
ormeroft
heact
ionismore
emphas iz
edt hant her ecei
veri .
e.subjec
tismor eemphasiz
edt hantheobj
ect
.Theact
iv
ev oi
ce
theref
ore,hel
pst hereaderstoc omprehendideasmor
eeasi
ly
.

7. Av
oidr
edundantphr
ases
:Redundantphr
asess
houl
dbeav
oided.

RedundantPhr
ase Conc
isewor
dorphr
ase

Duet
othef
actof Bec
aus
e

Empl
oyedt
heus
eof Us
ed

I
nasf
ewwor
dsaspos
sibl
e c
onc
isel
y

8.ObjectiveLanguage: pl
ainandobjecti
v el
anguagei sapre-r
equisit
eofat echnicalwrit
ing.The
writerusessuchl anguagewhicht hereadereasi
lyfoll
ows.Nodoubt ,thewriterusesthe
technicalvocabularybuthepresentsthesubjectinplai
nandobj ecti
velanguage.Thepur poseof
atechni calwri
teristofocust
her eaders‘at
tenti
on,tofurni
shinformation,
toi nst
ructandto
persuadet hereaders.

9.Presentat
ionalorganizat
ion:Goodt echnicalwri
ter
semploysuchdevi
ceswhi
chenablet
hem t
o
maket heformatofdocumenteasyt oscan.Theyoftenuser
epeti
ti
onandwhi
tespacesbet
ween
l
inestoemphasi zei mportantpoint
s.Suchdev i
cesareusedbythewri
ter
stomakethei
r
presentat
ional
wr it
ingeasyt oglanceatquickly
.

10.VisualAids:vi
sualaidsar
eanessent i
alpartoftechni
calwrit
ing.Thewr i
ter
susebargr aphs,
li
ne
graphs,piechart
setc,i
nordertocommuni cateeffect
ivel
y.Technicalwri
ter
susev i
sualaidsf
or
fourpurposes:(a)tosummar i
zedata(b)togivereadersanoppor tuni
tytoexpl
oredata(c)to
provi
deadi ff
erententr
ypointi
ntothediscussi
onand( d)toengager eader’
sexpect
ati
on.

11.Voc abular
y:At echnicaldocumentdi f
fersf r
om agener alwrit
ingintermsofitsv ocabulary.As
soonasast udentopensasci encebook, heisabletounder standclear
lythebasi cdiff
erence
betweent echni calandgener alwri
ti
ng.At echnicalwrit
ing–sayabookofsci ence–usesmany
special wordsinsteadoft hewor dsthatar eusedinday -t
o-daylanguage.Thus, abookof
sciencemayuset hewor dssuchas‘ cit
ricacid’for‘
vinegar’theword‘apex’for‘t
op’ and‘lat
eral
’
for‘slanti
ng’.I
nt hebooksofbot any,
wef indbot ani
calnamesf orcommonpl ants.Simil
arly
,in
gener alwri
tingabst ractwordsorphrasesshoul dbeused.usual lythefamil
iarwor dsshoul dbe
used.
 Readi
ngSki
l
ls
Readingisacomplexar
tinwhi cheyesandbrai
nbot hplayequal
l
yimport
antr
ole.
Anywor dseenwitht
heeyei sasy mbolmeani
ngfulonlywhenourbrai
n
recogni
zesitashavi
ngcertai
nmeani ngandassoci
ation;andadj
ust
sthenewl
y
recei
vedinf
ormati
onwiththealreadystor
edknowledge.

SpeedReadi
ng

Speedr eadi
ngi sthepr ocessofrapidl
yr ecognizingandabsor bi
ngphr asesor
sentencesonapageal latonce,rat
herthani dentif
yingindivi
dual words.The
amountofi nformationt hatweprocessseemst obegr owi ngbytheday ,whether
i
t'semai l
s,r
epor t
sandwebsi tesatwork, orsocialmedia, booksandmagazi nes
athome.Wel ikel
yfeel pressuret
ogett hrought hisinf
ormat ionmor equickl
y,so
thatwecan" stayint heloop"andmakei nformeddeci sions.

Mostpeopl
er eadatanav er
agerateof250wor dsperminut
e(wpm),t
hough
somearenatural
lyquickert
hanothers.But
,theabi
li
tyt
ospeedreadcoul
dmean
thaty
oudoublethisrate.

Howt
oSpeedRead

Allspeedr eadi
ngt echniqueshav eonethi
ngincommon: youavoi
dpronounci
ng
and" heari
ng"eachwor diny ourheadasyour eadi
t,apr
ocessknownas"sub-
vocalizat
ion."I
nstead,you" skim"li
nesorgroupsofwords,
asyoucanunderst
and
wor dsmor equicklythany oucansayt hem.

Onewayt ostoponefrom sub-vocali

zingistofocusonblocksofwor dsrather
thanoni ndi
vidual
ones.Dot hi
sbyr elaxi
ngy ourfaceand"sof
tening"or
expandingyourgazeont hepage, sothaty oustopseei
ngwor dsassingle,
dist
inctunit
s.Asy oupract
icethis,y
ourey eswillski
pfast
eracrossthepage.

Then,wheny ouapproachtheendofaline,
all
owy ourper
ipher
alv
isi
ontotake
youreyetothefinalsetofwor
ds.Thiswil
lhel
pt ost
oppausesinyourr
eading
(of
tenatful
lpoints)
, meani
ngthaty
ouscanacr ossanddownt ot
henextl
ine
morequickl
y.
.

Howt
oImpr
oveYourSpeedReadi
ng

Knowi
ngt
he"
how"and"
when"ofspeedr
eadi
ngi
sonl
ythef
ir
stst
ept
osuccess.Her
ear
e
somemor
eti
pst
ohel
pyou:

Avoi
ddistr
act
ions.Createanenv
ironmentwher
ether
eareasf
ewi
nterr
upti
onsand
di
str
act
ionsaspossible,
toall
owyout of
ocus ful
l
yonthewor
dsi
nfrontofyou.

Goeasy .Readanuncompl
i
catednov elorasi
mpleonli
neart
icl
etogetaf
eelforwhi
ch
techni
queisgoingt
oworkbestforyou.Gaugehowmuchy ou'v
erememberedorunder
stood,
andsetat i
mertoseehowmuchf asteryouar
enowr eadi
ng.

Cov
erwordsthatyou'
veal
readyread.Thi
shel
psy
out
ost
opy
ourey
esf
li
tt
ingbackt
oear
li
er
wor
dsandslowingdownyourreadi
ng.

Knowwhaty ouwantfrom thetext

.Thiscanbeusef uli
fyouar eusingtheski
mmi ngmethod,
asitpr
imesy out
opayattenti
onwheny ouseer el
evantwor ds,sent
encesorphrases.Youcan
thensl
owdownatt hesepoint
s,orcir
clethem f
oremphasi s,butotherwi
semov eacrossthe
pagequickl
y.

Benchmarkyourprogr
ess.Thi
swayyoucantell
whet
heryourpr
acti
ceispay
ingof
f.Ther
ear
e
manyfreespeedreadi
ngassessment
sonl
ine,
suchasatReadi
ngSoft
.com.

Pract
iceal
ot.Youhavetopract
icespeedr
eadi
ngt
ogetgoodati
t.Themor
eyout
rai
nyour
sel
f,
themorenat
urali
twil
lfeel
.

IntensiveReadi ng
Youneedt ohav ey ouraimscl earinmi ndwhenunder takingi ntensi
ver eading.
Remembert hisisgoi ngt obef armor et i
meconsumi ngt hanscanni ngorski mmi ng.If
youneedt olistthechr onol ogyofev ent sinal ongpassage, youwi l
lneedt or eadi t
i
nt ensiv
ely.Thist ypeofr eadi nghasi ndeedbenef i
cialtolanguagel earner sasi thelps
them under standv ocabul arybydeduci ngt hemeani ngofwor dsi ncont ext
.Itmor eover
,
helpswi thretentionofi nf ormat i
onforl ongper iodsoft i
meandknowl edger esulting
from intensivereadi ngper sistsinyourl ongt er m memor y .
Thi si
soner easonwhyr eadi nghugeamount sofi nformat i
onj ustbefor eanexam does
notwor kv erywel l.Whenst udent sdot his,theyunder takenei thertypeofr eading
processef fectiv
el y,especi allyneglectingint ensi vereading.Theymayr emembert he
answer sinanexam butwi llli
kelyforgetev er ythingsoonaf terwards.
Readi
ntensi
vel
ywhen:
 yougetnewcont ract s,businessproposals,ormemos.Avoidsimplyskimmingor
scanni ngthecont entsoft hesepaper s.I
tmayseem bother
some, part
icul
arast hese
uset echnicalEnglish,buty oudon’twantt osi
gnanythi
ngthatyoudon’tful
lyunderstand.
 usingt hecompanychatr oom orreplyingtoemail
s.Howmanyt imeshasi thappened
thaty ouquicklyrepliedtoacowor keroryourboss–onlytoleadtoami sunderstanding?

Ext
ensi
ver
eadi
ng
Ext
ensi
ver
eadi
ngi
nvol
vesr
eadi
ngf
orpl
easur
e.Becauset
her
eisanel
ementof
enjoymentinextensi
vereadingiti
sunlikel
yt hatstudentswil
lundert
akeextensi
ve
readi
ngofat exttheydonotl i
ke.I
talsorequiresaf l
uiddecodingandassimil
ati
onof
thetextandcontentinfr
ontofy ou.I
fthetexti sdi
ffi
cultandyoustopeveryfew
minutestofigur
eoutwhati sbeingsaidort olookupnewwor dsinthedict
ionar
y,y
ou
arebreaki
ngy ourconcent
rationanddivert
ingy ourthoughts.
Readext
ensi
vel
ywhen:
 y
ouhav efr
eetime.There’
sNOTsetr uleort
ricktothi
sonebecauseyou’r
ej ustr
eadi
ng
f
orfun.Readwhaty ouwant,whenyouwantt o,andatyourownspeed.Selectfr
om
var
iousmater
ialsl
ikenovel
s,magazines,bl
ogs,orevenstr
eetsi
gns.

1-
TheScanni
ng(
orPr
evi
ewi
ng)Met
hod-

Scanni
ng 
involv
eslookingONLYforspecif
ici
nfor
mat i
on(suchaskeywords,
numbers,
names, et
c.)whil
eomitt
ingotherdet
ail
s.Therearet
hreethi
ngsyou
needtoprocessinyourmindbef
orescanningamat er
ial
:

 Obj
ect
ive 
– whatam Isupposedt
obel
ooki
ngf
or?

 Ty
peofmat
eri
alt
obescanned 
–wher
ecanIgett
hei
nfor
mat
ionIneed?

 Thel
ayout
 –Howi
sthi
sinf
oint
hismat
eri
alar
ranged?

Scancont
entwhen:
 buyingfrom bookor  grocerystor
es.The humaney esaregreatatspotti
ngpatterns.
Insteadofgoingt hroughev eryti
tl
eoritem,scanshelvesforyourtargetpur
chase.Use
yourf i
ngersasagui de.Inamat t
erofseconds, youshoul
dspotwhaty ouneed.
 choosingmeal s. I
far estaur
antorfastfoodjointhasmorethan10opt i
onsandy ouonly
have15mi nutestospar e,usethepowerofscanni ngtoyouradvantage.Oncey oureyes
focusonaf ami l
i
arpat t
ern(li
kethewords‘ l
unchset’or‘
meatent r
ees’),y
oucanr ead
onlywhat ’
sint hatcategory

Phonebooks,menuboards,andemailinboxesal
lhavefamil
i
arl
ayout
st ous,so
thesear
etheeasiestt
oscan.In-dept
har t
icl
esandful
lnovel
sontheotherhand,
arethet
ri
ckiest–especi
all
yiftheyaremadeupofwal l
softext
s.

"Scanning"invol
vesmov i
ngy oureyesqui
ckl
ydownt hepage–oftendownthe
center–andi denti
fyi
ngspecificwordsandphr
asesasy ougo.Thesecanbekey
sentences( of
tenthefi
rstsentenceofeachpar
agraph),
names,numbers,or
tri
ggerwor dsandideas.

Scanningisreadi
ngquicklytosear
chforspeci
fi
cinf
ormation.Youmaynot
reali
seit
,butyouarealreadygoodatscanni
ng.Youscan,f
orexampl e,
when
checkingaTVgui deoraphonebook.Scanningmayallowy outo‘
read’upt
o
1,500wordsami nute.Onereasontoscananacademictextthatyouhavef
ound
whil
eresearchi
ngi
stol
ocat
ekeyt
ermsasameanst
oassesst
het
ext
’s
r
elevance.

2-Skimmingmethodofr eading/browsing-
Ski
mmi ngi
nvol
vesreadingmor ein
l
esstime.Unl
ikescanni
ng, y
ouf i
rstneedtogetthemai
nideaofthemat eri
al
befor
elooki
ngforcert
aindetail
sthatbackitup.Thi
sworksbestfornon-f
icti
on
works.

Simil
artoot
herr
eadi
ngt
echniques,youneedt
oest
abl
i
sht
hef
oll
owi
ngbef
ore
skimmingcanbecal
l
edsuccessful
:

• Obj
ect
ive–whatdoIneedf
rom t
hismat
eri
al?

• Mai
nIdea–whati
sthemai
nmessageort
houghtoft
hispi
ece?

• Suppor
ti
ngDat
a–howcanIpr
ovet
hatt
hisi
sthemai
nideaoft
hemat
eri
al?

Ski
m cont
entwhen:
 
 r
eadingr evi
ews.  Needat hirdpart
yopinionbef orebuy i
ngsomet hing?Ski mr evi
ewsto
gettheov erallimpressi
onoft hepr oductorser vi
ce.Manyt est
imoni al
st heseday shave
fourparts,whi chareperfectforskimmi ng:reviewtitl
e,pr
os,cons, andrecommendat i
on.
 i
mpr ompt upr esentat
ions.Needt ogiveaspeechi nanhour ?Asl ongasy ouhav ea
scri
pt(andy ou’ r
emor eorl essfamili
arwitht hetopic),
youcanski mt hrought he
i
mpor tantpar tsandaddy ourowni mprovisation.Theimportantthingist hatyou
understandt hemai nmessagey ouwantt oi mpar tt
oy ouraudiences.

Pleasenot ethatyoumightnotbeabl
etogettheent
ir
ethoughtusi
ngthi
s
met hod.UseONLYwhenneeded.Ski mmingcruci
almater
ial
,suchascontr
act
s,
novels,orresearchpaper
s,i
sNOTadv i
sedbecauseyoucoul
dmi ssvi
tal
detai
l
s
(andr egr
etitlat
er).

Iti
sakindofsuper f
ici
alreadi
ng.Theword‘ski
mmi ng’
means‘toremov efl
oati
ng
matterfrom thesurface’
ofsomet hi
ng.Herewepickoutsomeimportantphrases
andwor dsf r
om thedocumentandmakeagener alvi
ew.Wecaninferthetheme
ofthegivenmat teri
nabusyschedul ethr
oughthismethod.Muchofficti
on,f
or
example, i
sreadinthismanner .

(
Chur
ning)
-

Youmi ghthear dthewor d‘r

umi nati
ng’or‘
chewi ngthecod’meani ng
‘
contemplat i
ng’,mul l
ingover’or‘ponderi
ngon’ .Churni
nginreadingisal soa
si
milarprocess.Af tery ouskim andscant hetextquickl
ytogetthecor ei dea
andgener algistofthecont ents,youneedt ochur nt
heideasandwor dssoast o
gett
hegi stoft hetext .Aki
ntochur ningoutbut t
erbyshakingmilkorcr eam, you
needtochur noutt hegi stormeani ngofthetextbyt hi
nkingoverorst i
rringup
thei
deasandwor dsthaty
ouhaveread.Howeverchur
ninghappenswhenyou
havehadquickr
eadingofthet
extonceortwi
cesoast ounderstandi
tspr
imar
y
andsecondaryi
deas.

 
4-ASSI
MILATI
ON

DEFI
NITI
ON

Assimi l
ationreferst otakinginorcompr ehendingthetextsot haty oucananswer
anyquest i
onbasedont hetext.Iti
stheendpr oductofskimmi ng, scanningand
churningpr ocesst haty ouwoul dbeundertaki
ngdur ingther eadingofagi ventext
.
Toassi mi l
atemeanst oabsor b,ret
ain,makepar tofthewhol e,tomi x,t
oi ncl
ude
andbecomeonewi thothers.Assimil
ati
onisthecapaci tytoabsor binputsinto
one’sper sonali
ty.Sugarwhenassi milat
edintocof f
eewi l
lmakei tsweatandwi th
assimilati
ont heeff ectofsugarwi l
lnotbef el
t,si
milarl
ystudy i
ngasubj ectbut
notmast er i
ngitorl earninganewl anguageandnotpr acti
cingi tunt i
li
tbecomes
natural.

Ther easonwhyassi mi
lati
onisacommonweaknessi sbecauseear lyand
formativest udi
esar
ealways“ exams”and“ r
esults”ori
ented,whichiswhyt he
studentr elieson“memory”(oftenshor tt
erm)inst eadofassimil
ation.Adul
tl i
fe
andadev elopedper
sonali
tydemandt hatinput
sar ewellassi
milat
ed.Justasone
cannotf or gethowtowalk,run,swim orrideabi cycle,
thestudentmustalso
endeav ort obeachampi oninwhat everisstudiedenabl i
ngonet obecomet he
bestint het eam.

ASPECTSOFASSI
MILATI
ON

1.Str
uct
ureofthetext
:Animport
antaspectofreadi
ngispredi
cti
on.
Thebett
eryoucanpredi
ctwhatyouaregoingtoread,t
hefasterand
moreeff
ect
iveyouwillr
ead.

2.Str
uctur
eofparagraphs:Apar
agraphconsist
softhr
eepar
ts:
Fir
st
part
:Topicsent
ence,middl
epart
:Sentenceswhi
chsuppor
tmainidea,
Thi
rspart:Summaryofthepar
agraph.

Thereaderwil
lgetagoodi
deaoft
hecont
ent
sbyr
eadi
ngj
ustt
he
fi
rstsent
ence.
,

3.Aut
hor
’sv
iepoi
nt”I
nreadi
ngt
exty
oumakei
nfer
ence

APPLI
CATI
ONS

Assimil
ati
onhasv
ari
edappl
i
cat
ions,
whi
chhel
pdev
elopaper
sonal
i
tyi
nsev
eral
ways:
•
Addst
oAdapt
abi
l
ity
:

Assimilati
onr elatest oallinput
st hebraingetsfr
om v arioussour cesl i
kest udy,
observati
on, l
istening, r
ati
onal i
ty,empathyandev enent ertai
nment .Ther efore,t
he
moreoneassi mi latesorbecomesapar tofthestudy ,
thegr eaterist hescopef or
becomi ngmor eadapt able.Forexampl e,whenchi l
drenassi milatet hei nputthat
motherhasadi ffi
cultdaymanagi ngsomanychor esathome, cooki ngf oran
addit
ionalfourt of i
v etastesandchoi cesisnoteasy ,t
hechi ldrenbecome
adaptable.Simi l
ar l
y,whent hemot herassi
milat
est hestudyl oadont hechi l
dren,
thepeerpr essur e,thedemandsofschool andthewonder sofchi ldhood, t
he
motherbecomesmor eadapt able.Themor eonebecomesa“ partof ”somet hi
ng,
themor eadapt abl eonebecomes.Thi shappensnat ural
lywith

•Hel
psi
nLear
ning

Assimi l
ati
ngwhilelear
ning,iscr
iti
calt
oast udent ’
ssuccessi
nanexam.Howev er,
mostst udentsstudyby“ cr
ammi ng”ormemor izinganswerstoexpected
questionswiththegoal ofpassi
nganexam ort est.Obvi
ousl
y,t
histypeof
l
earningisshortliv
edandt hestudentmaygetv erygoodmarksinanexam, but
wil
llackt oappl
yknowl edgeandt hewisdom thusl ear
nt.

Ont heotherhand, whenast udentassi

milatesthelearni
ngbyquest ioni
nginputs
andappl yi
ngwhati slearnt
,theinput
stendt obecomepar tofthestudentsmind
ordatabankt obeuseatwi l
l.oForexampl e,we,remember ,atwill
ourtables
(2x2+4,etc.
),becausenotonl ywedot hem severalti
mes, weev enusedthem to
calcul
atecompl icat
edsumsi nmathemati
cs.Whenev eryouassi mi
latewhatis
beinglearnt
,yourknowl edgeexpandsgivi
ngy ouconf i
dencewhi chagainboosts
apositiveatt
itude.

•Cr
eat
esawar
enessandunder
standi
ng,
whi
chhel
pav
oidconf
li
ct

Whenwel ookseriousl
yatanyconfli
ct,
iti
smostof tencausedbydiff
erent
percepti
ons,att
it
udesandknowl edge(awareness)basedbetweentwoormor e
people.Theref
ore,peoplewi
ththesamel evelofknowledge(t
hroughassimi
lat
ion
andlearni
ng)hav elessornocauseforconfli
ct.

•Sel
f-
conf
li
ct:
alsoget
sresol
vedt
hroughassi
mil
ati
onandt
ounder
standhi
s,l
et
usl
ookatanexample:

Agi rl
hadbeenafr
aidofswimming(f
earbei
ngtheconfl
i
ct)forfiveyears
becauseshesawamov ieinwhi
chaswimmi ngtr
agedyt
ookpl ace.Allat
tempts
totakeheri
ntowaterf
ail
ed.Oneday,
ataClubparty
,adrowningchil
di ssaved
fr
om theswimmingpoolbyherfat
her
’squi
ck,bol
danddecisi
v eacti
on.Hejumps
i
ntothepool andsavesthechil
d.Thegir
lnowseesgr atefulpar
entsthanki
ngher
fat
herandreadsanar t
icleabouthi
sbraveryandkindnessinthelocal
newspapers….Herfearturnsi
ntoanadmi r
ati
on;shegoesi ntot
hepool ….
Assimi
lat
es,learns,
knowandunder st
and.

•UnderstandOt hersProblems:Justli
kewehav eourprobl
ems, otherpeople
havetheirproblems.Theyalwaysfeeltheirprobl
emsar egreaterthanour s.Thi
s
maynotbet rueinreali
ty,
butfr
om thei
rpoi ntofvi
ew,iti
sthosepeopl ewho
assimil
ate(learn,knowandunderstand)ot her
sprobl
emsi nstantlyandbecome
morepopul ar“WINNI NG”sonextti
me….Assi mil
ateyourmot her’sproblem by
washing,cleani
ngandcooki ngonceinaweek.Assi milateyourfat her
’s
dif
fi
cult
iesbyaski ngabouthiswork……t ryanddosomeofi t.

•Copewi thStr
ess:Assimilati
onisagr eatst
ressbusterbecausemoststress,
l
ikeconfli
ct,i
screatedbecauseoflackofassimilat
ion.Goaheadandassimi l
ate
thi
ngs,knowledge,event
s,feel
ingsmakemor efr
iends,i
ncreaseyourawareness
andfinal
lytheonlystr
essyoumayf aceisnotaboutassimilat
ingenough.

ENHANCI
NGASSI
MILATI
ON

Themoreoneassi
mil
ates,t
hebett
erthelearni
ng,
knowl
edgeandper
sonal
i
ty.
Assi
mil
ati
oncanbei
mpr ov
edinthefol
lowingways:

1.Stopreadingandstartstudyi
ngwhatisread:keepadi cti
onar
y,
thesaurus,mater
ialwi
thineachreach,
whilel
earning.Themomentyou
don’tunderst
andany t
hing,under
li
neit
,ref
erandwr it
et hemeani
ng.
Reviewt hemeaningseveralti
mes.

2.Appl
ywhati
sassimil
ated.Wri
tesel
f-
memos, not
est
ofr
iendsandappl
y
whati
sassi
mil
ated.Askpeopl
eforfeedback

3.Rememberpr
acti
cemakesamanperfect
.Ther
eisev
ery
thi
ngt
ogai
n
andoneasmall
concent
rat
edef
for
t.

9.BENEFI
TSOFASSI
MILATI
ON

Anyper
sonal
i
ty,
whi
chi
sst
rongi
nassi
mil
ati
on,
har
nessest
hef
oll
owi
ngbenef
it
s:

Greatersel
f-
est
eem: Thegreatert
heassimi
l
ati
on,thel
essotherpeopl
e’
sopini
on
andcomment sdist
urbaper sonal
it
yandoneadvancestowar
dclearl
ydef
ined,
predeter
minedwort
hwhi l
egoalsinli
fe.

Great
erpopul
ari
ty:
Sinceassi
mil
ati
onrequir
eseff
ort
,pat
ienceandper
sist
ence,i
t
cr
eatesmatur
it
y,whichpeopl
eappreci
ateandadmir
e.Thismakesonepopular
.
ThePowert
odot
hings:
Anassi
mil
ati
ngper
sonal
i
ty,
thr
oughknowl
edgeand

mat
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