Dear Alexa,

It was so good to talk with you the other day! It has been too long since we have been able to get together, and I have resolved to make more of an effort to keep in better contact with you. As I was thinking about the concerns you shared with me as you begin college and start your new job I just wanted to share some thoughts with you.

            Effective communication is highly important in everyday life. It is especially important to learn how to communicate in a technical and professional manner as you will be communicating with professors as well as your new boss on a consistent basis. You are very young, but no doubt have the potential to impress your teachers and those you work with using effective communication skills. I am confident that as your talent to effectively communicate in a professional manner is used many people will be able take you seriously as an adult. Technical and professional communication (TPC) in a nutshell is being professional and using correct grammar while accomplishing a goal of communicating effectively. Examples of this can be as simple as addressing an email to your professor in a professional way using correct grammar and vocabulary while being respectful and courteous.  Being able to effectively communicate can help you be a better student as well as employee and can often help you to excel in any career or major.

In order to be an effective professional communicator the message you want others to receive is the exact message you communicate to them. The message can be sent via email, marketing tools including flyers, or any other way an audience can receive your message. Studies have found that among certain workplaces TPC is deemed unnecessary. However, their ideas of the unimportance of TPC were based on one of the misconceptions that TPC is secretarial. The fact is that being professional when writing and communicating is far from limited to secretaries. The sooner you are able to recognize the importance of TPC and apply it to your life the better off you will be as a student and employee. It may even put you a step ahead of many other people because getting others to understand the value of Technical and Professional communication is an ongoing process.  If you have any questions or need any clarification please let me know. We will talk again soon.

Love, Kaylee

Petersen, E. J. (2017). Articulating Value Amid Persistent Misconceptions about Technical and    Professional Communication in the Workplace. Technical Communication,64(3), 210- 222.

http://www.esf.edu/fnrm/documents/FNRM_Communications_Handbook2008.pdf