Workplace Communication

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than the other, and management wrote all technical writing.

There are several issues with written communication in the workplace such as; lack of clarity, inaccurate information and grammatical errors. Employees and consumers do not want to read documents that are long and boring. Consumers and employees want clear, accurate information quickly. “The ultimate goal of good technical communication is clarity” (Gerson & Gerson, 2012, p. 54). Clear, concise writing keeps the documents shorter and more likely to be read by employees.

Well-written communication leads to a happier, healthier work environment. Clearly defining rules and offering better organization provides a more productive workforce. “Mistakes caused by miscommunication creates damage that may cause good customers and key employees to say, adios” (Conrad, 2014, pp. 106-107).

Written and verbal communication can convey the same message and have two completely different meanings. Even the most skilled verbal communicator can have difficulty writing. Written communication is typically more precise. In order for a written document to be precise, less information is presented taking out the emotion. Since verbal communication has more emotion, the communication could be more interesting and easier to follow. Both written and verbal communications come with challenges. Verbal communicators need to be aware of their pace, tone, body language and the audience’s response to their speech. The biggest challenge most verbal communicators face writing technical documents is the lack of creativity. According to TechnicalWritingAid.Com (2014), “there is a certain degree of artistic freedom, such as adding and editing images and other graphics, but most of the work involves rewriting technical specifications” (para. 1).

References

Challenges of The Field. (2014). Retrieved from TECHNICALWRITINGAID.COM: http://www.technicalwritingaid.com/challenges_of_technical_writing.html

Conrad, D. (2014). Workplace Communication Problems: Inquiries by Employees and Applicable Solutions. Journal of Business Studies Quarterly, 5(4). Retrieved from Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1542023353?accountid=458

Gerson, S. J., & Gerson, S. M. (2012). Technical Communication: Process and Product (7th ed.). Retrieved from the University of Phoenix eBook Collection database.