Technical Communication Is a Digital and a Human Activity

In today's workplace, with all of the digital communication available to us$,$ we communicate in writing more than ever. Email, texts, chat sessions, social media and blog posts, document review features $($such as Word's track changes when editing group documents$)$: These technologies are a daily part of our workplace communication. Digital technologies make it easy for people to collaborate, especially across different time zones or work schedules. Yet in digital formats, we often communicate with such speed that we forget about basic professional standards for workplace communication. For instance, the informal or even humorous tone we use to text our friends is typically not appropriate for a work$-$related email. An unclear or inaccurate email sent late in the day when you are rushing to get out of the office could easily cause a safety error or legal problem; an inappropriate tone might result in wasted hours resolving an interpersonal situation instead of working on the project.

Digital technology also provides plenty of ways, from simple to sophisticated, to research and find information. Doing a Google or other online search, however, is not a substitute for critical thinking skills. The big questions involved in most workplace projects are questions that require us to take our research findings and make the information meaningful by asking questions such as these:

Which information is relevant to this situation?

Can I verify the credibility and accuracy of this source?

What does this information mean?

What action does it suggest?

How does this information affect me or my colleagues?

With whom should I share it$?$

How might others interpret this information?