3.3.2 Adapting to your audience
When specialists talk about their field they may tend to use technical language that can only be understood by other specialists. Being aware of your audience’s background and adapting your language accordingly is an important communication skill.
Activity 22
Now listen to another Guidance employee, Łukasz Gawryluk, describing the function of one of the company’s products, CyScan, and answer the questions below.
Transcript: CyScan (Part 1)
a.
Lay people with an interest in the company’s activities.
b.
Potential buyers of the product in question.
c.
Engineers who design similar products.
The correct answer is b.
Discussion
The description is probably too technical for people who are not familiar at all with navigation systems. A potential buyer is likely to have a need for such a product and therefore be familiar with the ways in which oil rigs, vessels and ‘DP systems’ relate to each other. An explanation aimed at an engineer would probably contain even more detailed technical specifications.
2 Based on Łukasz’s description of the product, what questions would you ask in order to fully understand what it is used for?
Answer
Here are some questions you could ask about CyScan, though you may have thought of different ones.
- What is its main purpose?
- Where does it measure the range and bearing from?
- What are DP systems?
Note:
A DP (dynamic positioning) system is a computer-controlled means of maintaining a vessel’s position. You might also want to clarify particular terminology in order to check your understanding, e.g. does ‘bearing’ mean direction in this case? Does ‘data string’ mean information?
Activity 23
Listen again to Łukasz and answer the question below.
Transcript: CyScan (Part 2)
a.
Lay people with an interest in the company’s activities.
b.
Potential buyers of the product in question.
c.
Engineers who design similar products.
The correct answer is a.
Discussion
The function of the product is now clearer: it ensures that vessels do not collide with the oil rig. The first explanation shows that terminology is only one challenge for the non-specialist. Technical descriptions often presuppose knowledge which a member of the public does not possess.