UNIT II:

LESSON 1
The Principles of Professional
Communication
“People use language differently depending on the
social situation that they are in”
( Carol Tenny, 2013)
•People shift their language depending on
variety of social factors:

Who are they talking to

The number of people they are addressing
The general social context
Physical Factors
• Distance between speakers or the presence of a crowd

Chronological Factors
• Time of the day, a certain point in a week, or a season
of a year

Cultural Conventions
• Ex. “No comment.”
 CORPORATE CULTURE

• “the total sum of the values, customs, traditions, and

meanings that make a company unique.”
-Patrick Montana & Bruce Charnov
• Workplace or professional culture
• The purpose of academic writing is to generate
new knowledge in a particular academic branch.
• Professional communication is to get something
done with—or within—an organization.
(Pfeiffer, 2013)
• Knows more about the subject
• Consists of more than just one person with different technical
backgrounds.
• Read memos, letters, emails, resumes, and other professional
documents.
• Requires depth, logic, clarity, unity, grammar, and critical thinking

• “clear and simple organization of ideas in a format that

meets the needs of busy readers.” (Pfeiffer, 2013)
 TRADITIONAL
TERM-PAPER PROFESSIONAL
CONVER ATIONAL STYLE STYLE
STYLE • Sounds like a real
• Formal
• Speech person talking
• Academic or technical
• Informal writing • Short and simple words
terms
• Short terms may be used
• Few or no contractions
• Simple words • Personal pronouns are
• First and second
• Slang expressions and; used
person are used
• contractions • Sentences and
minimally- “One”
paragraphs are short
• Sentences and
paragraphs are long
• Use of Standard English
• To record important information
(e.g. secretarial notes, official documentation proceedings, & etc.)
• To give or ask for information from people within the
company
(e.g. memos, business letters, professional reports)
• To persuade readers to take action
(e.g. buy something, accept changes, give someone a job)
• HOMOGENOUS
• MEMBERS WITH DIFFERENT TECHNICAL
BACKGROUND
 I-ATTITUDE & YOU-ATTITUDE
NEGATIVE WORDING & POSITIVE WORDING
BIASED & BIASED FREE
I-ATTITUDE & YOU-ATTITUDE
NEGATIVE WORDING & POSITIVE WORDING
 BIASED & BIASED FREE

SET 1
Chairman Chairperson/chair
Salesman Sales
representative/rep/staff
Stewardess Flight attendant
fireman firefighter
 BIASED & BIASED FREE

SET 2
Woman Lawyer Lawyer
Woman doctor Doctor
Lady president President
Male nurse Nurse
 BIASED & BIASED FREE

SET 3
Manpower Labor force/personnel
Mankind Humankind
Man hours Hours/worker hours
manning staffing
 BIASED & BIASED FREE

SET 4
Managers and their wives Manager and their spouses
Faculty and their wives Faculty and their spouses
Dear Sir: Dear Sir/Madam:
• Polite language
(e.g “please”, “kindly”, and “thank you”)
.

• Grammatically accurate and easy-to-read

sentences
.

• Clear and direct

(e.g instead of “pursuant to” use, “according to”)
• Personal matters and overly friendly language
should not appear

• Emojis or emoticons and shortcuts

 Overly Personal
Hey, I’m not sure if you’ve heard
but I’ve been having a bunch of
family problems lately. My son was
recently expelled, my daughter is in
rehab, and to top it off, my wife
hasn’t spoken to me in days! So, I
really need a few days off to try to
get my home situation straightened
out. Please help me out by
approving this request.
Professional
I am writing to request a three-
day leave. I have some urgent
personal business to attend to
and I would certainly
appreciate your approving this
request. Thank you very much
for your consideration.
 Business letters
“document that conveys information to a member of one
organization from someone outside of that organization.”

Memos
“document written by a member of an organization to
one or more of the some organization”