Professional communication
Professional communication encompasses the oral, written, and visual forms of communication utilized in workplace settings, assuming that the audience possesses a certain level of expertise and knowledge about the subject matter. This communication style is characterized by its formal tone and the use of specialized vocabulary relevant to specific fields. It occurs in various formats, including face-to-face interactions and digital communications, and is shaped by the context and audience. The evolution of communication studies has highlighted the importance of understanding different communicative types and their ethical implications across professions like science, medicine, and business.
In contemporary settings, professionals are increasingly trained in effective communication practices, which often include navigating the intersections of personal and technical communication. With the rise of digital media and social networking, the lines between personal expression and professional standards have blurred, necessitating a more nuanced approach to communication. Organizations value employees with skills in professional communication, prompting educational institutions to offer specialized courses and training. As workplaces evolve, ongoing professional development in communication practices remains essential for maintaining effective dialogue and preventing conflicts. Understanding the unique communicative norms of different professions is crucial for fostering collaboration and success in diverse work environments.
Professional communication
Professional communication is the oral, written, and visual communicative activities used in a workplace. These communicative activities presume that the audience has a level of expertise or preexisting knowledge on the topic, and therefore does not need to have basic topics or ideas explained. Instead, the speaker or writer can begin with a detailed presentation, report, or correspondence. This type of communication is also typified by a formal style of speech and writing. Professional communication may be aided by digital tools and can occur face-to-face or virtually.
Background
Professional communication is a modern example of the ways that communication scholars have divided communicative types. Rhetoricians (scholars who studied the art of effective communication) debated about the ethical use of communication in fields such as science, medicine, law, and business. One group of rhetoricians and philosophers in ancient Greece, known as the Sophists, worked as communication teachers-for-hire and trained the wealthy in the art of persuasion and political speech. This could be seen as a form of professional communication, by both the Sophists, who made a career out of speech training, and their students, who often used that education to advance their careers or to win court cases.
In modern communication studies, scholars are interested in the division of different types of speech and how communicative behaviors differ between these types. For example, G. Thomas Goodnight, a scholar at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication, proposed that persuasive speech should be divided into three communicative spheres: the personal, private, and technical. The technical sphere is where professional communication occurs. Technical communication can be identified by the constraints that determine what forms of communication are acceptable and unacceptable. For example, to participate in professional communication it is necessary to have a specific level of education, to be familiar with the terms used in a specific field, and to present oneself as having mastered these communicative norms.
The medium of communication—such as a written e-mail or a verbal presentation—is not as important as the way in which that communication is delivered. For example, a person who takes a day off from work to attend a wedding may later send different types of e-mails about the event depending on their intended recipients. An e-mail to a friend could use slang, would not have to use proper grammar, and could express excitement. All of these writing traits are acceptable if shared by the friend. An e-mail to a supervisor, however, would avoid the use of slang, use proper grammar, and would make only brief reference to the wedding by indicating how the employee might make up assignments. Similarly, if you give a speech at the wedding it would adhere to different levels of formality than a speech given at work.
Scholars utilizing Goodnight’s theory of communication spheres are especially interested in the times when personal and professional communication intersect. For example, how do employees at a family business communicate? On one hand, they have a long-term and private connection with their colleagues. On the other hand, to be successful, the business will have to put forward a professional appearance that eschews familial ties. The emergence of social-media platforms has also challenged the division between personal and professional communication. Employees are at times asked to show their social-media profiles to employers and are judged using professional communication standards for what they thought was a private communicative event.
Professional Communication Today
All careers require communication between colleagues, within management structures, and sometimes with the public. Knowing what types of communication are acceptable in each engagement is critical for both a successful career and a business. As such, many employers actively seek employees who have been trained in professional communication.
Universities have responded to this expectation by offering specific classes and professional seminars for returning students. These classes examine the intersection of private, personal, and technical communication. They also explore the ways that digital media and social media are changing these communicative practices. Regarding presentations, this includes the transition from handouts to slide presentations, and the continued development of online presentations. Students are also trained in how to adapt to cross-cultural communicative settings. This training includes adaptations to different communicative norms, the use of technology for simultaneous communication, and intercultural ethics training. Some students choose to specialize in a specific form of professional communication such as business writing. In business writing programs, students are trained in the construction of written reports, memos, and proposals. Other students take a broad-based communication approach that includes the study of verbal, written, and digital communication.
After entering the workforce, employees can expect to be continually trained in the changing standards that are applied to professional communication in the workplace. This can include training about how to prevent workplace violence. This includes learning skills to diffuse workplace conflicts. Employees are also trained in the prevention of and response to hate speech, sexual harassment, and other forms of communication that are against corporate regulations or otherwise undesirable but do sometimes occur in the workplace.
Academics who study professional communication are interested in the different types of communicative norms and practices in different careers. For example, while both engineering and law are professional careers, the types of presentations that should be made by professionals in either career are different. Scholars might study the ways that evidence is presented by engineers and lawyers and the conflicts that can occur when engineers and lawyers attempt to speak to one another in a professional setting. While participants of this discussion might be well educated and experts in their individual fields, if they do not make an effort to convey their information and ideas to one another, they will most likely find their communicative engagement to be a failure.
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