Hello Chief Delphi,
My name is David Knerr, I am currently a freshman at Kettering University, and for my Professional Communications class, I need to interview Mechanical Engineers about the importance of Communication within the workplace. It would be greatly appreciated if you could answer these next questions for me. (sorry for the length)
What percentage of your time is spent writing, editing or presenting?
What types of writing, editing, and presenting do you do?
Who are your audiences and what are their needs?
What does your audience expect from your documents or presentations?
What are your biggest writing-related (or presentation related) challenges on the job?
How do deadlines affect your way or writing on the job?
What brainstorming, organizing, or writing techniques, if any, would you recommend for profession-related writing?
Many traditional English classes focus on writing essays, what value, if any, do you see in learning how to write essays? Do you think they help students learn and, if so, what do they teach?
What skills do you think College level communications classes should emphasize?
How important are communication skills (interpersonal, writing, speaking, ect…) in your profession/workplace?
Do you have any advice for workplace communication?
[RIGHT]Thank you very much for your cooperation, it is greatly appriciated,
David Knerr
(and if this is in the wrong sub-forum please move it, Its my first time posting)[/RIGHT]
I’m a Chairman’s guy, so this might be slightly different than what you might see otherwise. However:
What percentage of your time is spent writing, editing or presenting?
A solid half of my time in the robotics lab is spent doing that stuff, then some more (not sure of the fraction) at home.
What types of writing, editing, and presenting do you do?
I write, edit, and present my team’s Chairman’s Award submission. I write an essay about what my team does outreach-wise, edit it, then present similarly.
Who are your audiences and what are their needs?
My audience is the judges, and their needs are to see what we do in a clear, concise format.
What does your audience expect from your documents or presentations?
Greatness.
What are your biggest writing-related (or presentation related) challenges on the job?
Fitting it all into the size/time constraints. For the essay, we only have 10,000 characters (not much when you’re describing a whole program), then for the presentation we only get 5 minutes. Tough decisions have to get made.
How do deadlines affect your way or writing on the job?
The deadline for the essay is right before the end of build season, so that affects how I can help the robot side of the team during build season. It definitely is stressful, but overall it prevents us from going crazy from too much time thinking about the essay.
What brainstorming, organizing, or writing techniques, if any, would you recommend for profession-related writing?
Clear headings and sections are very helpful to the judges, who have to look through at least 10 other submissions.
Themes can be useful if they don’t get in the way.
Many traditional English classes focus on writing essays, what value, if any, do you see in learning how to write essays? Do you think they help students learn and, if so, what do they teach?
I would say that there is value in writing essays, and they teach communication, which will be an increasingly valuable asset in the future.
What skills do you think College level communications classes should emphasize?
Innovation in communication. (Hey, that rhymes.) You gotta stick out in today’s world, and being innovative can help.
How important are communication skills (interpersonal, writing, speaking, ect…) in your profession/workplace?
In robotics, they are very important. They help us spread the word, get sponsors, and change lives. (And get awards, of course.)
Do you have any advice for workplace communication?
Often, clear, and honest.