“‘Intermediate-Level’ Communication: A Model of Communication for Multiple Cultures”

by Travis Daniel Griffin | Xchanges 9.2

Discussion

With the goal of effectively communicating with multiple cultures in mind, the exploration showed a great deal of promise for the “Intermediate-Level” model. The “Western” study group reported no difference between the level of understanding in the control page and the modified research page. These responses indicate that incorporating the model had little to no impact on the overall comprehension level of the “Western” readers. The qualitative results show that most of the group didn’t feel that adding more text into the page with the use of the model had a significant impact. In fact, readers actually suggested that there needed to be more content on the page.

This observation suggests that the model does not patronize or trivialize the English level of Western speakers. It also suggests that, when writing documents for unknown audiences, readers from Low-Context societies are not offended or turned-off by the addition of a model of communication designed to reach out to people from High-Context cultures. This successful addition and acceptance of higher-context writing by low-context audiences was a major goal of the project and showed that the “Intermediate-Level” model has promise.

There was also evidence that adding more features to the model could have some promise. The results show evidence that readers could be given more content in a document without compromising the delivery of the message in the document. While technical writing, especially for “Low-Context” cultures, is often driven to simplify text, explaining words, simplifying sentences instead of content, and use of more formal English may actually add substance to the overall message. The amount of time that people spent on the pages suggests that applying the model can cause readers to spend more time with the content, thereby giving the writer more time with the reader to convey important messages.

The results from the Eastern Study group point to the prospect that the model had some level of effectiveness in conveying higher levels of comprehension in readers from High-Context cultures. Those that read the control page felt as if there was not enough content on the pages to facilitate higher levels of understanding. From those that read the research page, some still found there was a lack of trust built between writer and reader, but felt like they understood the pages better than those that read the control page.

Implications for the Field of Technical Communication

Audience analysis has always been a major factor of technical communication (Andrews, 2001). With the advent of an interconnected world, and electronic documents that can be seen by readers from more than one nation, it has become increasingly important to tailor documents for multiple audiences. This suggests a need to have a Lingua Franca within an organization to assist writers when preparing documents. By establishing linguistic guidelines, as opposed to simply having format guidelines, it can give writers the tools necessary to efficiently write documents that conform to a desired contextual format.

When applying this technique to web documents, great care should still be taken. The Neilson and Norman group report that most people do not read webpages so much as they scan them (Neilson, 1997). If the Intermediate-level model was applied to web documents, it would be best to apply it at pages deeper within the website, at a point when the reader has committed to finding specific information within the website.

The addition of concepts from ESP and ESL teaching could be beneficial to current technical communication programs. In countries like China that have already developed technical communication programs in their universities, ESP training is a necessity (Ping & Weiping, 2005). Because technical communicators are often put into a position where they communicate with other technical communicators, understanding the concepts being taught in ESP programs could assist in facilitating effective communication across international borders.